


Courting for Dummies

by SlashGod



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha!Sam Winchester, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff, M/M, Omega!Dean Winchester, Omega!Gabriel, alpha!Castiel, so much freaking fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-10
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-08 06:22:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 31,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1129346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlashGod/pseuds/SlashGod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>fluff and porn with a hint of murder</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

'Courting for Dummies' read the small, brightly coloured leaflet that was mocking him from it's place on the shelf. Fingers twitching, Gabriel snatched it, glaring as the word 'Dummie' mocked him.

It wasn't like he'd had any help in this kind of area. So a leaflet seemed like the most obvious way to see if he was even doing this right.

"How hard could Courting even be?" Gabriel muttered, shoving the leaflet into his pocket to avoid the gaze of passers by. 

"Guess I'll find out..."


	2. Show Your Interest

Gabriel: Courting for Dummies

1\. Show your interest.

“Show Your Interest?” Gabriel mused ~~,~~ glaring at the small leaflet in his hands. Since he'd picked it up, he'd retreated back to the dorms, thankful to read this drivel in privacy rather than on campus where everyone could see him panic. 

Hadn't he already shown his interest?   
  
He'd come onto Sam Winchester more times than he could count reckoning the number to be somewhere in the low hundreds.

Sighing, Gabriel flicked the leaflet onto the desk wondering just how he was meant to 'show' his interest. For a step by step guide, it wasn't very informative (though there were lines for him to write down his experiences with each topic, as if that was meant to help in some way).

What would really help, would be to have an actual Councilor around the campus. It was big enough, dorms stretching as far as the eye could see, not to mention just how big the actual school was. There are coaches, and mentors, but what the school really needed was a councilor, to speak to both Omega's, Alpha's and Beta's in their time of need.

Would probably be used as more of a joke though, thinking about it.

“Why the fuck do you look so moody?”

“Shut it, Winchester.” Gabriel hissed, not having heard his dorm mate when he entered their room. Not that the hissing had ever stopped Dean before, it even caused him to pluck the leaflet from the desk, looking it over with unhidden amusement.

“Who the hell are you courting?” 

Great. If Mr. Dean “Romantic” Winchester couldn't even tell, it was no surprise Sam hadn't clued in on it either.

“No-one.” Gabriel pouted, arms folding over his chest.

“Sweetie.” And never before had that sounded like such an insult. “If you're taking the time out of your busy schedule to read somethin' that isn't erotica, you clearly mean business with whoever it is you're trying to get in the sack.”

Gabriel continued to pout.

Dean sighed, and as if bracing himself, took a seat next to his friend. Omega he might be, but he surmised his experience might be able to help; and though he liked to give his roommate hell about some things, he was more than willing to do him a solid in this case.

“Is it Kali?”

“What, no!”

“Then who?”

Pursing his lips, Gabriel shrugged. What if he told Dean, and got punched in the face? It wouldn't be the first time Dean resorted to violence on behalf of his brother, nor the first time he punched Gabriel come to think of it. But, if Gabriel lied and said it was someone else, Dean was likely to try and set him up. Something he most definitely did _not_ want. Truth it was, then. “Sam.”

A wave of shock passed over Dean's face before he nodded. It made sense, Gabriel was always asking about Sam, looking out for him, happier when he was around. Come to think of it, Dean wasn't all that surprised at all. Adding then that Gabriel actually seems serious, picking up a _Courting Leaflet_ of all things... “Yeah, okay. I can work with that.”

“Huh?”

“So you like my brother; big deal. I'd rather have _you_ dating him than that Ruby chick who's been sniffing him out lately.”

Huffing at that information, Gabriel snatched back the booklet. “How the hell am I meant to 'show my interest' anyway?”

“If that's what you call what you've been trying...”

“Fuck you.”

Sighing, Dean looked to the ceiling, as if looking to Heaven for guidance. “I'm serious Gabriel. Smacking Sam's ass and telling him you'd like to climb him like a tree wasn't the smoothest way to show your interest in him.”

“Maybe not.” Gabriel grinned. “But he's fucking adorable when he blushes.”

Rolling his eyes, Dean placed a hand on Gabriel's back. “Try something less extreme. He's been after a new notebook for his studies; get him something nice and sensible, and he'll be overjoyed. Trust me.”

“Yeah?” Gabriel sighed. “I guess maybe you're right.”

* * *

Biting his lip, Gabriel glanced around the study hall for the thousandth time that morning. He didn't have classes today, but on Dean's advice had come here to see Sam in his 'private' space.

None of their friends would be there, but Stamford was a big school. It would make the presentation a little less awkward at least. And at the moment, only a few students were scattered about in the large groupings of tables, books and chairs.

Being a little panicky, he'd already fired off over 50 texts to Dean, and just as he was about to call it quits and head back to his dorm, Gabriel spotted Sam walk through the door.

The Alpha's shaggy hair was falling into his eyes, and he was deep in reading whatever nerdy book was clasped in his bear paws. How someone became so tall when so young was a mystery to Gabriel's much shorter self, but he had to admit, he kind of liked it.

“Samsquatch!” he chorused across the study hall, gaining a few glares from the quiet studiers, but largely ignored by those in groups. Sam's head snapped up, and as his eyes met Gabriel's a goofy grin crossed his face.

Sitting back down, Gabriel watched as Sam hurried over.

“You're studying?” Sam inquired as he approached, raising an eyebrow at Gabriel, motioning to the empty desk before him.

“Huh-? - oh! yeah” Gabriel grinned. “I just got here.” There was a snort of laughter from an Alpha nearby, and Gabriel shot him a glare.

“I didn't realise you had any tests coming up.” Sam observed, sitting in the space opposite Gabriel, already setting his own books onto the desk.

“I wanted to put forward an Omega's Study Programme, so came here to do a bit of people watching.” It wasn't a complete lie; Gabriel had been throwing the idea around with Dean for a while now, and they were going to make it a project for their final year.

“That sounds pretty cool.” Sam seemed impressed, and Gabriel beamed at the Alpha's approval.

Snapping his fingers, Gabriel pointed at Sam. It was time to present the gift, and honestly his insides were shaking. What if Sam hated it? What if he threw it back in Gabriel's face? On the other hand, maybe he'd love it, maybe he'd grin and Gabriel with his cute dimples and floppy hair?

“I got you something.” Digging through his bag (which shall be read as: pushing through empty chocolate wrappers) Gabriel hummed, seeing Sam's curiosity growing out of the corner of his eye. Pulling out the neatly wrapped, candy decorated gift, Gabriel handed it over to Sam with a shy smile.

Typically, Sam rolled his eyes at the choice in paper, but accepted the gift, slowly opening the paper, careful with it.

“Neat freak.”

“Study hall.” Sam replied.

As he extracted the gift and examined it Sam's eyebrow's furrowed. “Gabriel..” he breathed.

“Nice, isn't it?” The Omega leaned over the table, coming closer, his fingers reaching to outline the details on the book. “Hand stitched, leather bound. It'll be a great notebook, or a journal if you want. Do you like it?”

“I can't accept this.”

The grin dropped from Gabriel's face, and he could feel his heart in his throat, an empty pit in his stomach. “What?”

“I can't.” Sam pushed the gift over the desk to Gabriel, but the Omega jerked back, as if it would burn him if it came too close

“Just- just keep it okay?” There was so much hurt on Gabriel's face, but Sam couldn't understand why, it was only a little gift, it wasn't like Sam had just stabbed him.

Unable to make eye contact, Gabriel fled from the study hall, sadness rolling off him in waves.

* * *

“He rejected you?!”

Gabriel had bundled himself up in all of the blankets he could find in his and Dean's dorm, and was determined to melt into the bed, or suffocate from lack of fresh air. 

“Yes...or did you not sense it in my damn scent?” inquired the Omega with much more patience and tolerance than he felt.

“That stupid knot-head!”

Despite the layers, Gabriel could hear Dean's angry pacing across the floor, and the calm thrum of Castiel's voice, offering his support.

None of them had expected Sam to reject Gabriel.

“The gift was-”

“-Gabriel's best shot at showing Sammy he was interested, and starting the whole Courting process. That moron-!”

“-Please, Dean, the Journal-”

“-How could he be so stupid? Rejecting Gabriel like that-”

“-Dean!”

The pacing stopped, and Gabriel peeked out from under his covers, wrinkling his nose at the sight of Castiel's hands on Dean's hips.

“I know that the journal was incredibly expensive. Perhaps Sam saw it's value instead of the motion that it was meant to carry.”

“Expensive?” Now Dean was glaring at the huddled figure under the blankets with fire in his green eyes “I told you to make it simple!”

“It was simple!” Gabriel yelled back, hanging onto his sheets as Dean tried to pull them off “A simple, hand stitched, leather bound notebook! It wasn't like it had been encrusted with jewels; I even denied the gold thread option!”

Dean let go of the blankets and watched as Gabriel fell back into the heap.

“How much?”

“In the low hundreds,” he squeaked.

“Damn it Gabriel!” Dean ran his hands through his short hair. “I was thinking twenty bucks at the absolute most! No wonder he didn't take it!”

“I don't understand,” Gabriel sniffed, pushing the blankets away from him, “It's the least expensive courting gift anyone in my family has ever given.”

“What?”

“Michael got Lucifer a Villa in Spain. Becky got Chuck a whole publishing corporation! Fuck, Castiel got you that leather jacket!”

Dean's face paled, and he turned to look at Castiel, who was wearing a rather guilty expression.

“You said you found it for a bargain.”

“It was a bargain.” Castiel insisted.

“How much?”

“I don't understand why cost-”

“How much, Castiel!?”

“It was in the low thousands...”

Gabriel was sure that Dean was about to faint on the spot, and Gabriel reached out with open arms to grab him, seeing Dean sway on his feet.

“Low. Thousands,” he whimpered. Sure the jacket had been a perfect fit, almost as if it had been tailored for him, but he hadn't thought anything of it at the time. He'd never thought that Castiel would have...

“Fuck.” Dean fell back to sit on the edge of Gabriel's bed, head in his hands. “I've been throwing it in the back-seat of the Impala.”

“It is yours to do with as you wish.” Castiel reassured him “It's only upon your request I have not been showering you with similar gifts. In our family, money is no issue, and we like to provide for our m- partners.”

“You lied to me.” Dean hissed.

“I never lied.” Castiel's expression was sincere. “Our uncle Zachariah owns the shop from where I purchased it. When I told him it was my courting gift to you, he sold the jacket to me for half of the ticketed price. It was a bargain; yet I would have gladly paid much, much more, if only to see your expression of utter joy again.”

Dean flushed, and Gabriel made a gagging sound.

“Back to the issue at hand if you don't mind! Sam's rejection.”

“Well, he has got low self-esteem. It could explain why he rejected the expensive gift. I will go and speak with him.” Castiel stood, pressing a kiss to Dean's forehead on his way past.

Time to search for Sam. Which actually wasn't that hard. If he wasn't in the study hall, class, or with Dean, he could only be in one other place.

The Library.

Approaching a sitting Sam was easy enough, they were friends, had been since childhood. Although, Castiel really wasn't the best at approaching _subjects._

“Were you aware that Gabriel presented you with a Courting gift?”

“A Courting gift?!” 

If it weren't for the absolute terrified look on Sams face, Castiel would have berated him for yelling.

“Yes. Gabriel is rather distraught that you have rejected him.”

“I didn't-” Sam's face fell. “Oh.” The guilty expression was enough to make Castiel pity the other Alpha. “I didn't know. I guess it makes a little more sense though...” Sam was fiddling with the pages in his text book, and Castiel gathered his inner strength for the heart to heart he was about to be pulled into.

Winchesters were problematic creatures.

“If you do not wish to return the Courting gift-”

“-I-” Sams shoulders slumped. “I wish I could hit a re-do button and do this morning all over again.”

Castiel's head tilted to the side. “Does that mean you would have accepted the gift?”

“Castiel, I like Gabriel. More than I've ever liked anyone. I just never thought I'd have the chance with him; he's perfect, you know? But he flirts with anyone; heck, at one point I thought him and Dean were dating, they were so handsy with each other. So; when he gave me the gift, I thought it was just from a friend. That's why I rejected it. If I'd taken it and Gabriel had only wanted friendship...”

“... Your biology would have taken it to be a Courting Gift, due to your feelings, and you would have despaired when he figured it out and rejected you.”

“Yeah. I wanted Gabriel to give his consent, informed consent, I was going to give him a Courting Gift before Prom if he was still single, you know? If I had known that was his gift for me-”

“-Then you would have surely accepted.”

“Yes. In a heart beat.”

“And the value doesn't worry you?”

Sam blinked, confused. 

"Gabriel could have given me a candy wrapper and told me it was a Courting Gift, and I would have accepted. I don't see what money...” Sams eyebrows furrowed. “It wasn't expensive, right? Because I don't have a lot of savings-”

“Sam.” A smile quirked at Castiel's lips. “Gabriel does not care about your finances. Nor about money in general. You are aware of his conflict with our parents. Money has the only value of being able to keep a roof over his head, and that is usually all he would care for, it is only because of his conflict with the family that he has insisted previously for the most expensive of items. Much like yourself, he could care less what you buy him; he only cares that you cherish him, as I am sure you will do.”

Sam's goofy smile took over his face. “You really have a way with words, huh?”

“Dean begs to differ. Often telling me to 'shut my pie hole'” The finger quotations he added to the statement made Sam snort with laughter.

“ _Ahem._ If you two aren't going to behave you can leave my Library.” 

Sam and Castiel lowered their heads in a sign of respect, muttering apologies to the stern Librarian.

Only minutes later the pair were shuffling out, intent on giving Gabriel some good news.

* * *

Metal clashed against metal, and Gabriel hissed in defeat.

“Let it be known.” Dean called out. “That the mighty have fallen, and in their wake, one shall rise as the Ice. Cream. King!” 

Scooping up the treat into his mouth, Dean chuckled as Gabriel attempted to wrestle him, for a spot within the Tub of Heaven for his spoon.

“Long live the Queen!” Gabriel roared in a short-lived victory, pulling the tub from Dean's hands and falling off of the sofa, cackling as his shoveled the softening goodness into his mouth with happy abandon.

Of course, that would be when Castiel and Sam arrived, looking on with amusement.

“Long live the Queen?” Castiel questioned.

“Yeah, long live Gabriel the Size Queen.”

Gabriel choked on his mouth full of ice-cream, and thumped at his chest as he stood, wheezing.

“Dean, may I have a moment of your time?”

“Hmm? Sure, Cas.” Dean cast a worried glance between Sam and Gabriel, but left the two alone, stepping into the hallway with Castiel.

“So-”

“I'm not really a Size Queen, you know? I mean, not that there is anything wrong with sizes, if you catch my drift, it's the motion of the ocean not the size of the boat and all that-”

“-Gabriel.” 

Sam smiled, occupying the seat that Dean had just left, raising his eyebrows in amusement. “Did you know you babble when you're nervous?” 

Lowering his bag so it was on the floor, Sam dug through it, pulling out the Journal.

“Keep it.” Gabriel squeaked. “Please-”

“Gabriel Novak.” Sam turned to face the Omega, the gift in his hands. “I thank you for your gift, and would be honoured if you still wish to be courted by me.”

Gabriel's jaw snapped closed, and he watched Sam for a few moments to make sure this wasn't a dream.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“But before-”

“-I hadn't realised it was a Courting gift, and if I had known I would have accepted it in a heartbeat. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did before.”

Gabriel's face lit up a grin, to the point his cheeks were aching. “I would like you to court me, Mr. Winchester.”

“Then shall we seal this agreement with a kiss?” Snorting, Gabriel rolled his eyes, and Sam chuckled with embarrassment. “Hey, I didn't make the rules, but I intend to follow them.”

“Then kiss away, O'Alpha.” teased Gabriel, pulling Sam into a light kiss.

“You won't regret this. I promise.”


	3. Chapter 2

Gabriel: Courting for Dummies Chapter 2  
Courting Gift (Part 1)

It had been two days since Sam had accepted Gabriel's gift; the sign of his interest. Time out of time, it had been the Omegas which were to begin a courtship. Also time out of time, it was the Alpha's prerogative to return the favor, by a declaration or by a gift, five days from the present. Sam, in his infinite wisdom, was as a loss as to a proper Courting gift for Gabriel.

It had been 2 days since Sam had accepted the official 'show of interest' Courting Gift from Gabiel, and Sam was stumped.

Knowing that Gabriel wouldn't care what he was given wasn't helping Sam's cause at all, how could he make this special when he had no clue as to what Gabriel wanted?

“You're meant to be Courting the guy, not planning his funeral. Smile a bit would you?”

“Dean,” Sam half-whined, “This is really difficult, okay?”

“For fuck's sake, buy him a lolly and get it over with.”

“Dean,” Sam snapped. “This is _serious_.”

“What is so serious that you're snapping at your brother, hmm?”

Sam slumped, looking apologetically to Ellen. She may have looked stern, but her features were still soft, his brown hair framing her face and making her eyes light up.

“Sam's dead set on Courting Gabriel, and he's only got three days left to present his gift.”

“Dammit Dean! Must you?!” Sam snapped again, yelping in protest as Ellen whacked him across the back of his head.

“Why didn't you tell me sooner?”

“Sorry, Ellen. I really want to make this special, but don't know how...”

The scariest grin Sam had ever seen lighted Ellen's face, and he shuddered in his seat, noting that Dean did the same. At least he wasn't the only one scared of their adopted mother.

“Luckily for you, Uncle Rufus has a cabin only a few hours drive from here, and just so happens to be away for a little while, won't be able to make it back for his quarterly visit; Bobby was to go check upon the place for him. It's nice, remote, in the woods. I think there's a lake nearby too. Would give you two some bonding time.”

Sam's features brightened, and he even sat up a little straighter. That was a perfect idea!

“But... you'll have to take Dean and Jo with you.”

Sam slumped once more trying to suppress a groan.

“You need a chaperone, and if Dean goes, so does Castiel, which means you're still one chaperone short. Jo can go with you, you can have one of the family carriers from the yard, and it will still be a great time.”

Well, it would be better than buying Gabriel some sweets, a great deal more thoughtful. Though he might still buy the sweets too; Gabriel's sweet-tooth was unbelievable at times.

Making memories together, now that sounded romantic, the perfect Courting Gift.

“Okay.” Sam nodded his head. “But this has to stay a surprise...” 

* * *

Gabriel was in a foul mood. Dean had been hiding something from him, not to mention his favourite sweater had gone missing as of last night, and to wrap his day up in a bow, Sam _still_ hadn't given him his Courting Gift. At this moment in time, Gabriel would settle for a phone call and call it a Courting gift.

“Gabriel!”

Kicking out at the person who was trying to rouse him, Gabriel smirked into his pillow at the resulting curses. It was too damn early to be friendly.

“Damn it, Gabriel, get your ass out of bed, we're meeting Jo for breakfast, remember?”

Groaning, Gabriel whimpered out “I don't want to move.”

“Stop being a baby. Jo said she'd buy you the biggest, chocolatiest drink she could find.”

Sniffing into the blanket, Gabriel announced “I want Sam to do that.”

Rolling his eyes, Dean huffed. Getting Gabriel out of bed was key; this surprise wasn't worthless otherwise. “We could go to the arcade?” Dean offered, tugging at the blankets.

“Dance Dance Revolution?” inquired the Omega with a hopeful tone.

“I'll even get Cas to dance with you!”

"Deal!” Gabriel flung the blankets off, cackling as Dean fell backwards with a surprised yell. “Give me five minutes and we'll go.” Already running to the bathroom, Gabriel quickly prepared for the day.

“That moron really loves to dance...” 

* * *

“So Cas actually agreed to DDR with me?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Fuck. How did you manage th- you know what, I really don't want to know.” The pair were just leaving their dorm; had trouble locating his backpack. With everything else that had gone missing, he had wanted to report it to the Campus Manager. If there was some Alpha Knot Head breaking into dorms to steal things, they needed to be stopped. It was only at Dean's reminder that they would have scented an Alpha intruder that Gabriel dropped the idea.

Causing mass panic was not on today’s to do list.

“I asked him is all; get your mind outta the gutter.”

“Last time I asked him to dance with me, he snapped. And you know how often Castiel actually snaps at people. You must have him wrapped around your little finger.”

“Yeah.” Dean grinned green eyes dancing.

Just as they stepped outside, a car horn sounded, and Gabriel could only stare at the rather beaten people carrier parked outside. What was more shocking was Sam in the driver's seat, waving at Gabriel like a buffoon. Throwing a look of suspicion over his shoulder to Dean, Gabriel slowly walked over to the car.

“Surprise!” Sam clambered out of the vehicle, arms wide as if to show off his magical van. Which looked like it might fall apart at any given moment.

Quirking an eyebrow in question, Gabriel leaned to the side to look around Sam at the people carrier, clearly unimpressed. “Don't tell me you paid money, like actual, real, money for that thing.”

Sam's arms dropped, his lips puckering as he turned his widest puppy expression to Gabriel.“No.”

“Oh; thank goodness.”

“This is the first part to your gift...” 

The kicked puppy expression could do nothing to make this experience any less dire.   
  
“-It gets better, I promise!” Sam hurried to reassure the Omega.

Well, Sam _had_ gone to the trouble of robbing a car graveyard for him. “Fiiine. But only because you're sorta attractive in the right light.” 

Letting out an undignified squeak when he was pulled into a hug, Gabriel playfully slapped at Sam's shoulder.

“Great! Castiel and Jo are already in the car-”

“Dean!” Gabriel hissed, “We were never going to the arcade were we?”

Grinning like a fiend, Dean slapped a friendly hand on Gabriel's back, yanking open one of the doors and slipping into the back-seat of the vehicle..

“Surprise, jerk,” he said affectionately.

The car wasn't too bad on the inside; no suspicious stains at least. There were two seats in the front, three in the middle and what looked like space for two extra seats in the back, although they were missing – probably sold for scrap at some point. It made the boot big enough that you could hide a dead body in there, Gabriel knew because he had checked; one could never be too careful about killer zombies on a road trip.

With Sam and Jo up front arguing about whatever it was two nerds argued about, it was up to Gabriel to play buffer in the back, seated between Castiel and Dean to stop rather “intimate” activities from taking place.

“You two sicken me.” Gabriel gagged, as he caught them making bedroom eyes over his head for what felt like the thousandth time.

“If you let us sit together, you wouldn't have to see us.”

“And end up with you pregnant? No thanks.” Gabriel cackled, waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner at Dean as the fellow Omega socked him in the arm.

“All round and fat with babies-” Dean was shaking Gabriel by the collar now, but it only made the Omega louder in describing Dean's future pregnancy.

“Cut it out guys; don't make me pull over!”

“But _Sammich -”_ Gabriel whined, slapping at Dean's hands and leaning as far into Castiel as he could. “I'm only telling the truth, plus if these two start going at it in the car we'll break down for sure!”

Sam rolled his eyes. “For the last time, we wouldn't all fit in the Impala.”

“Dean could've sat in Castiel's lap!”

“No; Sammy can't drive my Baby, won't let 'im.”

“Then _I_ would have sat in _Sam's_ lap.” Gabriel countered with a wiggle of his head.

The vehicle swerved, tires screeching against the road and horns beeping around them, the two Omegas clinging to each other and Castiel's knuckles white as he gripped his seat.

“Sorry! Sorry..” Sam's whole face was flushed, and Jo was laughing so loudly Gabriel was surprised they hadn't all gone deaf.

“Damn it, Sam!” Dean scolded, but was unable to keep the grin off his face. “Stop thinking with your knot and keep your eyes on the road.” 

Untangling himself from his hold on Gabriel the panic had gotten the best of him, okay? Dean huffed, folding his arms over his chest.

“I changed my mind.” Gabriel pretend whispered to Castiel. “You can sit next to him. All this negative energy is clogging up my pores.”

Castiel snorted in amusement, and even Dean had to laugh at Gabriel's comment. At least the mood was brightened. 

* * *

“How in the hell did he manage to fall asleep?”

Dean shrugged – as much as he could anyway, with Gabriel clinging to his arm. 

“To be fair, he's not had his morning coffee, and none of us have eaten yet.”   
  
Though they had needed to stop for half an hour after the driver's side mirror began to flap in the breeze. That was also when Gabriel had given up and said that Dean could sit next to Castiel; now though Dean suspected it was so Gabriel could curl up against him and not worry about kicking Castiel in his sleep.

“I'm surprised we had yet to hear about the lack of sugar from Gabriel himself.”

“Naw Cas; he's trying to appear all grown up and mature for Sammy.”

“But why?” Sam asked in confusion. “We've all been friends since we were kids, I know that Gabriel is an overgrown child anyway.”

“Oh yeah – remember that time he'd convinced you he killed Dean?” Jo mused.

Dean let out a snort of laughter, but was silenced with a glare from Sam. Right. Not funny. Though it really was.

“He wants to impress you, stupid.” Jo rolled her eyes, flicking some hair over her shoulder as she turned to face Sam. “Gabriel went from, 'I don't give a fuck about Alphas' to, 'Look at me Alpha I'm so obedient and cute!' overnight. He wants to make sure you're going to stick around.”

“Yeah,” Dean added, “took me forever to get him out of bed this morning, too. He was convinced you'd already changed your mind and weren't going to give him the Courting gift. I had to promise Cas would play DDR with him just to get him to move.”

“Something I will not be doing, thank you Dean.” Castiel piped up.

“Aww come on Cas, I promised him.” Dean added a little whine into his voice, batting his eyes up to Castiel, who scoffed in response.

“And in return?”

“I'll make it up to you.” Dean purred.

Jo and Sam groaned in unison. “Dude, gross. Not in the car.” 

* * *

_The windows were high in the warehouse, not letting in much light. “Yeah. Or we're going to dunk you in some holy oil, and deep-fry ourselves an Archangel!”_

_It was more promise than a threat, and Gabriel snapped his fingers, Castiel appearing injured, breathing hard, but still alive._

“ _Cas, you okay?”_

“ _I'm fine. Hello Gabriel.”_

“ _Hey bro. How's the search for Daddy going? Let me guess; awful.” The joy Gabriel had felt at seeing Castiel switched to anger, hatred. He’d already tried looking for their father, searched for millennia, countless planets, eras, and had come up with nothing. If an Archangel couldn’t find him, how could a regular Angel, and one as misguided as Castiel?_

“ _Okay, Gabriel. How does an Archangel become a Trickster?”_

_The fire was growing hotter around him, and was singing the tips of his wings, unseen to the Hunter's eyes._

“ _My own, private, witness protection. I skipped outta Heaven, had a face transplant, carved out my own little corner of the world. 'Til you two screwed it all up.”_

“ _And what'd Daddy say when you ran off and joined the Pagans?”_

“ _Daddy doesn't say anything about anything.” It wasn’t clear from his tone, but words alone were unable to convey what he felt at the absence of their Father; a hurt that Humans had yet to find words to express._

“ _Then what happened? Why'd you ditch?”_

_Ever curious Sam._

“ _Well do you blame him? I mean his brothers are heavy-weight douche-nozzles.”_

_The same badmouth Dean._

_Anger bubbled up inside of him, and he was unable to control his outburst. Not that he could ever control this dream, like a broken record playing over and over. “Shut your cake-hole. You don't know anything about my family. I loved my father, and my brothers. Loved them! But watching them turn on each other? Tear at each other's throats? I couldn't bear it! Okay? So I left. And now it's happening all over again._

“ _Then help us stop it!”_

‘ _Sam’ his insides cried ‘I want to help, I do!’ “It can't be stopped!”_

“ _You want to see the end of the world?”_

‘Dean, so naive. I’ve witnessed it a thousand times over already _’ his mind offered._

_“I want it to be over!“ he said instead,”I have to sit back and watch my brothers kill each other, thanks to you two! Heaven, Hell, I don't care who wins! I just want it to be over!”_

“ _It doesn't have to be like that!” The edges of the warehouse were starting to fade out, and Gabriel was fighting, he needed to know what happened next, why did it always have to end there?_

“ _There has to be some way to, to pull the plug!”_

_No!_

_No Gabriel didn’t want to leave yet!_

“NO!” Gabriel jerked, fighting against the hold on him, punching the sucker square in the jaw.

“Ho-LY SHIT, GABRIEL!” That was Dean’s voice. _His_ Dean’s voice. Blinking open his eyes, Gabriel saw Sam clutching at his jaw, ducking out of the car and staggering a bit. Dean was crawling in through other side, checking Gabriel over to make sure he was okay. “Dude, what happened?”

“Just… Just a bad dream.” Gabriel offered with a little smile. Dean frowned at him, concerned.

“I’ve seen you wake from bad dreams; you don’t usually punch people in the face.”

“Uh yeah, about that. Is Sam okay?” Castiel and Jo were crowding around Sam, Castiel prying the Alpha’s hands away from his jaw so he could take a look.

“Sammy’ll be fine. He’s a tough kid. What I need to know is, are you okay?”

“Really Dean. I’m fine.”

The same couldn't be said for Sam. The poor guy was still clutching what must have been a bruised jaw - his shoulders were tense, hunched over slightly, his eyes squinting in pain as nimble fingers pressed into his face.

On the plus side, he didn't seem to be bleeding, so at least Gabriel hadn't ruined his pretty mouth.

Clambering out of the car, legs wobbling, Gabriel shuffled over to Sam, his hands held out as if approaching a scared or wounded animal. Punching an Alpha just wasn't done, unless you were looking to start a fight, and honestly? Gabriel was terrified that this would mean he'd just accidentally refused any further flirting Sam might have put his way.

What Gabriel hadn't expected, was the chuckle from Sam.

“You have a mean right hook, you know that?”

“Huh?”

Sam slowly straightened out, raising to his full height and rubbing at his jaw, moving it to get some feeling back. The grin on his face was wide, and there was a sparkle in his eyes that Gabriel hadn't seen before. “You nearly dislocated my jaw.”

“Why do you sound happy about that?” Gabriel's eyes narrowed, and he pursed his lips. A short laugh fell from Sam's lips, and Gabriel could finally recognise the gaze directed towards him. It was warm, open, and- Gabriel flushed. “Urg, you Alphas and your bloody need for strong mates.”

“You totally could have floored me.” There was a giddy amusement in Sam's voice.

“I still might.” Gabriel shook his fist, though his demeanor was ruined by the grin on his face. “Don't wake a sleeping Omega okay?”

“Got it.” With a teasing salute, Sam sauntered back over the car, grin on his face as he started to pull the bags from the back.

“Seriously?” Dean questioned, eyebrows raised as he watched the rather overly joyed Alpha pick up as many bags as he possibly could, sneaking a sly glance at Gabriel's way before he was carrying everything to the front door of the cabin.

The flush still hadn't left Gabriel's face, and he fanned the air to move cool air to his flushed skin.

“Stop encouraging him.”

“I can't help it. I didn't know he'd get all worked up over a punch to the face.”

Dean narrowed his eyes at Gabriel, before huffing out a laugh, glancing back to Sam. “Yeah. Well. Guess he has a thing for short asses who can pack a punch.” Turning his heavy gaze back to Gabriel, Dean pointed a menacing finger at him. “Don't think you're getting out of telling me about that dream. But I'll drop it for now, because some Alpha knot-head clearly wants to impress you-” Dean's gaze flickered over to were Sam was now tapping his foot, gazing over to them with narrowed eyes. “-and he gets prissy when something doesn't go his way.”

Taking in a shaking breath, Gabriel walked past Dean and finally took a good look at the cabin. It actually didn't look too bad; the wood was clearly solid, there were no holes in the roof from what he could see, and even the stairs leading up to the door were firm beneath him.

“It belongs to Bobby's friend Rufus, but he can't make it this year; wanted someone to check in for him.” Sam offered, holding out a hand for Gabriel to take, his fingers twitching when Gabriel hesitated.

Slipping his hand into Sam's was one of the most wonderful things Gabriel had ever felt. The skin was warm where their hands joined, and it was as if the air had left his lungs in the best-worst way.

“Yeah?” he breathed.

“Yeah.” Sam sounded just as breathless, and the pair stared at each other, loosing the world around them as honey met chocolate.

“Damn it guys, can you not do that on the front porch?” 

Dean shoved past them, and Sam huffed in irritation, before turning an award winning smile on Gabriel.

“So, surprise! This is my gift to you, a weekend in a cabin with me-”

“And myself, and Dean, and Joanne-Beth,” Castiel added, slipping past the pair.

"'Jo' is fine, thanks Cas.” Jo chorused, waggling her eyebrows suggestively at the pair.

Sam sighed, his shoulders slumping as he watched Gabriel bounce into the cabin, closely following Jo and joining the small group with a boisterous laugh.

This was going to be a long weekend.


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courting for Dummies Chapter 3  
> Courting Gift (Part 2)
> 
> Thanks to my wonderful Beta GothicLolita009

Their first night at the cabin went rather well. They'd ordered pizza, Sam going to collect it from the shop, and the rest of them had started to unpack. There wasn't much that needed to be done; they'd all only packed for the weekend. If Dean hadn't been the one to pack for Gabriel, he was sure they'd have a lot more to do. 

There were two rooms that joined; the second only accessible by the first. This was usually for parents who didn't want their Alpha child to catch wind of their Omega child in heat; though they would not try and mate, the scent would cling to the Alpha, and bring unwanted attention to the Omega from the outside world. 

It worked perfectly for the group. 

Jo was in the first room; as she was chaperone, she was charged with the duty to make sure Gabriel's virginity stayed intact until the pair were officially bonded. As Dean and Castiel had already taken that step, she wasn't too worried about Dean sneaking out in the middle of the night from his and Gabriel's shared room. 

They had to follow the rules, and the rules stated Gabriel needed a chaperone when spending time with Sam, to ensure that nothing untoward should happen between them. 

While Sam would be in no trouble, Gabriel would be torn apart; by his family, his doctors, the school. Even if Omegas were no longer viewed as having to stay barefoot and pregnant, they were still hastily judged if the rules were not followed. It protected them as well; if an Alpha made it all the way through Courting, and you both still wanted to be together, then they were suitable, and the chaperone was to ensure that every rule was met.   
Sam had gone through the same process when Dean and Castiel had started Courting, following his brother around like a lost puppy, to protect him. Thankfully the pair were past that stage now. 

While the chaperone had bothered Dean, Gabriel didn't seem fazed in the slightest. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Tryin' to figure you out.” Gabriel's golden eyes slowly blinked, and he turned to gaze at Dean, curious, but waiting. “You've been trying to get Sam to notice you romantically for ages, right? Hence the leaflet? And now he is, but Jo is the buffer, and you don't even seem upset.” Dean's eyes narrowed. “What's the deal, man?” 

The shorter Omega's shoulders dropped, and a soft barely there sigh left his lips. “I don't mind Jo. She's a friend, y'know? 'Sides, if Michael was the buffer, I wouldn't even get to sit next to Sam. You know what he's like.” 

Dean huffed out a breath and nodded his head. Gabriel had been courted once before, a couple of years ago. Though Dean didn't know the full story, he'd heard enough. The Omega was being pressured by the Alpha; manipulated, and the only reason he was still a virgin was thanks to Michael chasing Abaddon out of the house in utter fury. Since then, Gabriel hadn't the guts to Court, and Michael's hold on him had been tight. Dean suspected the only reason they were allowed to come out together was because Michael had watched them all grow up together, and perhaps a few words from Ellen had calmed him too. 

“Sam's great.” Gabriel continued. “He is, really and he'd never hurt me, but-” The past was left unmentioned, and Dean pulled Gabriel into his arms, rubbing comfortingly at his friend’s shaking back. “Hey. It's okay. You know I'm here for you; you're family, okay?” 

“Thanks.” Gabriel sniffled, pulling back from Dean and pawing the tears from his face, an unimpressed sound falling from his lips. “You made me ugly cry.” 

With a snort and a roll of his eyes, Dean pushed Gabriel playfully. “Re-do your make-up, pretty boy, Sam'll be back with pizza any minute.” 

That seemed to perk Gabriel's mood, though if it was due to the food or Sam's return, Dean really didn't know. Leaving Gabriel to wash his face, Dean shuffled into the living room of Rufus' cabin. 

The TV was smaller than Dean was used to, but he was honestly just glad this place had running water. Pissing in the woods was not his idea of fun. 

“Dean.” Though Castiel's lips had hardly twitched, Dean could easily recognise the affectionate gaze. The pair were so connected Dean didn't even need to see Castiel to know his reaction most of the time. The Alpha's pale hand cupped Dean's tanned cheek, and the Omega let a soft sigh escape. “You look troubled.” The thumb was comforting as it stroked his face, and Dean closed his eyes, giving a small grunt of acknowledgement. 

“S'just Gabe.” He muttered, eyes flickering shut when soft lips pressed to his own. 

“You worry too much.” 

Dean gave a rather unattractive snort as his fingers curled in the short hairs at the nape of Castiel's neck. Close. Intimate. 

“You know I can't help it.” Finally forest green eyes opened to gaze into ocean blue. 

“Hey.” Castiel's breath was ghosting over Dean's lips. 

“Hey yourself.” 

Before they could kiss again a gagging sound had them pulling from each other’s grip, Jo making the offending noises. 

“It's too sweet.” She gasped. “Help!” Jo clutched at her chest, falling to her knees. “Diabetic... Coma...” Ha! 

Gabriel cackled as he watched Dean's face light up, helping Jo back to her feet. 

“Fuck you.” Dean huffed, arms folding over his chest. If he were a cat, Gabriel was sure he'd see the Winchester's hackles rising. Flopping onto the sofa with a huff, Dean directed his glare away from his friends to the black screened TV instead. 

“Easy, princess,” Gabriel teased. “It was only a bit of fun.” Sinking into the space next to Dean, Gabriel pressed closely to him, his head resting on Dean's shoulder. “Wanna smooch?” 

Shoving Gabriel away from him with a laugh, Dean rolled his eyes, Castiel quickly slipping into the newly vacated seat next to his lover. Even on the floor Gabriel was laughing, and Dean could only smile, leaning into Castiel. He could never stay mad at his friends for very long. 

Just as Jo and Gabriel settled together on the big sofa, Sam entered the room, boxes of pizza piled high. “Who's hungry?” 

-*- page break -*- 

It turned out eight pizzas between the five of them was a little too much, chorused by groans each time one of them shifted. 

“I'm having a food baby,” Gabriel grumbled, clutching his stomach with a grimace. 

“That's one labour I don't want to be around for.” The laughs quickly turned to more groans from the group, Jo instantly regretting her decision to make a joke. 

“Stop, please,” Dean begged. “Don't make me laugh.” 

Earlier on in the night Sam had declared them all light-weights, causing each to eat until they were beyond stuffed, even Sam, by finishing off the scraps from the others pizzas. 

Hey, he was a student; wasting food wasn't an option. 

Now further on in the night, they were half way through their second film, all feeling a little more comfortable. Jo had moved to the reclining chair, leaning back to watch the TV, but still keeping an eye on the newly Courting pair. Gabriel was pressed into Sam's side, eyes glued to the TV, and Sam's arm was resting across his shoulders, an almost hug for the pair. Castiel had shifted so he was lying down on his back, Dean sprawled across his chest, both their faces turned to the TV. 

Fingers brushed against golden locks, and Gabriel glanced up to Sam, to find the Alpha staring down at him with a goofy smile on his face. Gabriel's eyebrows lifted in a silent question. 

“You look happy.” Sam murmured, keeping his voice low to not distract the others from the film. 

“What can I say, watching people get brutally murdered usually puts me in a good mood.” 

With a breathy chuckle, Sam rolled his eyes. “Nothing to do with the company then?” His finger was twirling a longer lock of Gabriel's golden hair, and the Omega felt blood rushing his face, his gaze turning shy with lidded eyes and a coy smile. 

“You're not too bad, I guess.” 

Sam was closer to him now, having leant down, and his mouth nudged against Gabriel's ear, his breath causing the Omega to shiver. “Well, I think you're amazing.” 

Squeezing Sam's thigh, Gabriel blinked to the Apha through lidded eyes, their foreheads now pressing together, breath ghosting between them. 

“Hey!” Gabriel jerked back from Sam, startled, and Jo fixed the pair with a glare. “Hands off.” Gabriel's hand left Sam's thigh as if scolded, and there was a snort of laughter from Dean, Castiel muttering, “Busted.” 

“And you two.” Castiel looked innocently over to Jo, but it was ruined by the squeak Dean let out as his ass was squeezed.  

“Cas!” 

“Alright, enough!” It was clear Jo was amused, despite her down turned lips. “It's late; time for bed, little Omegas.” Both Dean and Gabriel whined at this, but Jo wasn't giving up. “Neither of you are even watching this. Come on. Bed.” Jo was pulling Dean to his feet, giving Gabriel the chance to untangle himself from Sam's hold. 

“I'll see you in the morning.” Sam's wide grin was bright, and it made Gabriel's chest tighten with happiness. 

“Sure. G'Night.” 

“Night Cas.” Dean and Castiel shared a loud kiss just to annoy Jo; who then ushered Dean and Gabriel into their room. 

“No sneaking out.” Dean groaned at Jo's 'Ellen' voice, taking over as protective mother of the two Omegas. 

“But Jo-” 

“No, Dean. Just because you and Castiel are officially dating doesn't mean I'm going to let you go off while Gabriel has to stay locked away. That's not fair, and you know it.” The scolding left Dean with a guilty frown on his face, shoulders slumped and gazing at the floor. Jo may not have been an Alpha, but she was a damned fierce Beta when she needed to be. Dean shuffled away from her and grabbed some clothes to change into. 

“It's fine, Jo-” 

“It really isn't, Gabriel. You know that.” 

“I don't mind-” 

“-Jo's right, Gabe. It's not fair. 'Sides, been ages since we've had Omega time together.” The way Gabriel's face brightened made leaving Cas alone for the night worth it. Though Gabriel and Dean were both sleepy, and wouldn't be able to talk much that night, scenting another Omega always calmed them down, and with someone so close it was the ultimate relaxation. 

“Night guys.” 

“Night Jo.” They chorused in unison, shutting their door after Jo left them. 

“You seem pretty happy,” Dean commented, shuffling out of his clothes. 

Gabriel followed suit, kicking his clothes to the side. “Yeah. Sam's great. I actually had a lot of fun today, considering we were stuck in an RV for a few hours.” 

“Yeah.” Dean snorted in agreement. 

“I'm pretty sure the window opens if you wanted to go see Castiel...” 

“And leave you alone with an open window? I don't think so.” Now both in their sleep clothes, lights flicked off, the Omegas crawled into the queen sized bed together, Dean wrapping his arms around Gabriel's small middle, playing the big spoon. “If Sammy ever hurts you,” Dean mumbled against Gabriel's golden hair. “I won't hesitate to kick his ass, okay? He might be my brother, but you're my best friend.” 

Instead of making a joke about Dean and chick-flick moments, Gabriel hummed. “Same with Castiel. I don't care that he's family, because you mean more to me than some blood ties.” 

With a noise of acknowledgement Dean closed his eyes. “Night Gabe.” 

“Night Deano.” 

-*- page break -*-  
    
When golden eyes blinked open, it was matched with a groan, Gabriel's hand numb from where his head had been resting on it. Dean's arms were wrapped tightly around him still, and with a shift of his hips Gabriel confirmed that yes; that very much was an erection pressed against his backside. 

It wasn't the first time he'd woken up with Dean like this, and it probably wouldn't be the last either. 

“Dean.” he mumbled, still half asleep. Turning his head to puff his breath against Dean's cheek, Gabriel tried once more. “Dean.” his movements were limited, Dean really was a cuddle whore. “Fatty.” Slapping at the hands holding onto him, Gabriel shifted again. 

With a groan, Dean’s eyes finally blinked open, gazing into the honey colours of Gabriel's gaze. “Mornin'.” 

“Is that a knife in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?” 

Dean snorted, pressing his face into Gabriel's neck, but shifting his hips back from Gabriel's, so they weren't so tightly pressed together any more. “Why is it always 'or'. Why can't I have a knife in my pocket, and be happy to see you?” 

“Getting off on killing someone? You're starting to sound like me.” The pair laughed, light and happy despite the fact that Dean was still hard. Hell, Gabriel had his first heat while sleeping over at Dean's; if you can get past that you're pretty much set with a friend for life. “You should sort yourself out. If you set off Castiel's rut early we won't be leaving this cabin for seventy two hours.” 

With a put upon sigh, Dean pulled back completely from Gabriel. “Guess I'll jerk off while you take a shower then.” 

“Thanks for the mental image.” Gabriel crawled over Dean teasingly on his way to the shower, earning a slap to his ass. “Hands off the goods.” Gabriel winked, slipping into their adjoining bathroom. 

Gabriel took his time in the shower, waking up with Dean was one thing; he didn't actually need to witness how the Omega pleasured himself. The scent of strawberries and cream filled the bathroom, and Gabriel hummed in delight. At home he wasn't able to use his scented soaps, no matter how much he wanted to, thanks to his brother’s mate’s allergies. The sooner that the pair moved out of that house and into their own (still being renovated) place, the better. Rinsing off, Gabriel turned off the shower, just standing for a moment and taking a breath. A whole weekend Sam gave him as a Courting gift, and yeah, today was already Sunday; making the weekend practically over, but he was still nervous he'd mess this up. On the plus side none of them had classes until Monday afternoon, so they would most likely stay for one more night, leaving early in the morning. 

Making his way over to the mirror hanging above the sink, Gabriel scrubbed his teeth clean, pulling a few cheesy grins at himself. Jumping at the knock on the door, Gabriel wrapped a towel around his waist quickly, throwing it open to reveal Dean looking sheepish. “Just need t'shower.” 

Wrinkling his nose, Gabriel gave Dean a pointed look “Damn right you do, you stink like sex.” 

Huffing, Dean pushed his way into the bathroom. “Don't let me ruin your beauty routine.” Rolling his eyes, Gabriel closed the door after Dean, re-locking it. Moving back to the mirror, Gabriel pushed at his cheeks, making his face appear thinner, arching his neck to get rid of his small double chin. He was short, and he liked to eat cakes; he knew it was his own fault, that he should take better care of his diet, but at the same time, eating salad didn't make him happy, having a big slice of cake did. 

Gabriel's hands slid down his neck, his chest, to rest on his hips, pinching his small love handles. Thankfully all of his running around kept his belly slim, but he still wasn't happy with his body, with how it was filling out. “Maybe I should go on a diet?” Gabriel called out over the sound of the shower, causing Dean to curse and slap the water off, his head poking around the shower curtain, hair spiked into a mohawk with some scentless shampoo. 

“What?” 

“Maybe I should go on a diet,” Gabriel repeated, pulling at his love handles with a disgusted face. 

“Why the hell are you thinking about dieting?” 

“Do you have soap in your eyes or something?” 

“Dude.” 

“This!” Gabriel motioned down his body once more, his eyes wide as he stared at Dean. “Sam isn't going to like this!” 

“Fuck that.” Dean stepped out of the shower, careless about his naked body, frown etched on his face “Gabriel; you're fucking gorgeous, okay? Who the fuck cares that you got a little more to cuddle? Sam should be fucking honoured that you're even given him the time of day, you hear me? Because you're god-damn perfect, and your ass is like-” Dean made a lewd hand gesture. “I would kill to have an ass like yours. So fuck this self hate thing you have going on, because it doesn't suit you. You're confident, you're sexy, start acting like it.” 

Now flushing, Gabriel offered Dean a shy smile, his eyes fluttering at the praise from his friend. “Thanks.” 

“Just stop being stupid, okay?” 

“Got it.” 

Dean stepped back into the shower, slapping the handle so the water rushed back on, cursing at the cold that covered him for a moment before it was blissfully warm once more. By the time Dean had finished in the shower, Gabriel was fully dressed, adding the final touches to his make-up. Dean wriggled his nose in dislike, but moved to get dressed himself. He'd never been a fan of make-up, wearing it, or seeing it on others, though Gabriel was pretty talented at the whole application thing. 

Pulling on some boxers, and then jeans, Dean searched around for his favourite t-shirt, the one Cas had given him a few weeks ago. 

“This is meant to be a relaxing weekend,” Gabriel announced, walking behind Dean and holding out the shirt he'd been searching for. “No worrying allowed.” 

Snatching the top, Dean rolled his eyes. “Got it. No worrying. That means you too, okay?” 

“Yeah yeah, now come on.” Pulling on the top, Dean was tugged out of the room and past Jo by an eager Gabriel. Jo called after them, but Dean waved her off. He could look after Gabriel for a little while by himself after all. 

Just as the pair walked into the living room, Sam came in through the front door, his hair pushed back, still in his running gear. The elder Winchester rolled his eyes. Perfect timing. Sam was still sweating, muscle shirt clinging to his body, ear phones hanging from the front of his shirt where he'd pull them out. Gabriel couldn't pull his eyes from those strong arms, it was making his mouth water and something stir low in his belly. 

The younger Winchester's face lit up with a smile. “Morning.” 

“H-Hey.” Gabriel choked out. 

“You look great.” Sam's breathy response made Gabriel flush from head to toe, and he resisted the urge to hide behind Dean; the hungry gaze making him quiver with delight. 

“Yeah, uh, make-up does wonders.” Geeze, it was like now Sam knew Gabriel was trying to get in his pants the Omega was suddenly speechless all the time. Thankfully Dean was taking pity on him. 

“Dude, you reek; go take a shower and stop bugging me with your musk.” 

“You love my musk,” Sam huffed, pushing past Dean to head to his room, shooting a small smile Gabriel's way before he disappeared from their sight. 

“What the hell man?!” 

“I don't know!” Gabriel hissed back. “It's like my brain cut all connections to my mouth!” 

Dean sighed, his lips pushing together in thought. “You never had this problem before.” 

“Yeah I know.” 

“It's because you're trying to impress him.” Jo entered the room, hair curled and fresh faced. 

“That makes no sense. I wasn't like this while trying to get him to notice me.” 

“No, because if he didn't notice you, there was nothing to lose. But now with him Courting you, there is everything to lose.” 

“So I'm going to be flustered and idiotic forever?” 

With a roll of her eyes, Jo gave Gabriel a pointed look. “You need to stop worrying about losing him, and enjoy having him.” It made sense, sure, but everything always sounded easier in theory. Thankfully the attention on Gabriel's love life stopped when Castiel stumbled into the room, hair mussed and pyjama pants dragging along the floor, slung around his hips. Beside him, Dean whimpered, and Gabriel had to hold in his laugh. 

“G'mornin'.” Castiel moved to kiss Dean, only to get a hand pushing his face away. 

“Dude. Brush your teeth and get dressed; no-one wants to see you half naked in the morning.” The dazed look hadn't left Castiel's face, but he nodded his head, stumbling back to his room. Dean's face was flushed, and he folded his arms over his chest, looking put out that he didn't get to spend his morning with a half naked and affectionate Castiel. 

Finally, Gabriel erupted into laughter, Jo joining him, the pair leaning against each other as their bodies shook. Gabriel was heaving in breaths when Sam rejoined him, and in that moment Gabriel realised that Sam had been just as tense as he was, Gabriel's now open laughter bringing an easy smile from Sam's face, dimples and all. 

“Why are we laughing?” 

Dean just grumbled in response, the flush not leaving his face. “Gabriel's being a dickwad.” 

“I'm sure that's not true,” Sam defended, noticing that Gabriel and Jo had finally managed to get their laughs under control, calming down. 

“I was kind of a dick, yeah.” Gabriel admitted. “But Dean's grumpy embarrassed face is just too adorable.” 

“Fuck you, I'm manly as fuck, not adorable!” HA 

“Yeah, you're the manliest Omega I know,” Gabriel teased. 

“Whatever.” 

“Please boys, don't start any prank wars, my hair is only just back to blonde.” Both Omegas whined, but kept their grins. They hadn't meant for Jo to get caught between their bickering last time, and though they had all ended up laughing, it still wasn't worth the scolding they'd gotten from Ellen. 

Castiel sauntered back into the room, hair still damp from his shower, but teeth brushed and clothes in place. Finally Dean allowed his Alpha a morning kiss. 

“You two are sickening sweet, you know that right?” Jo groaned. 

“We do it just to piss you off.” Dean grinned. Rolling her eyes, Jo pushed past the pair, unable to take much more of their smooching. 

“Come on, Mum said Rufus had a bunker around here somewhere, and if we find it he'll totally freak, it'll be awesome .” 

Together the five left the cabin, in search of the 'bunker'. 

“I don't think it's real.” Gabriel announced as he climbed on top of a rotting log, testing its balance. “He's just an old man, he makes stuff up.” 

“Maybe, but why make up having a secret bunker?” 

Gabriel shot Sam his ' did you really just ask that question ?' look, one eyebrow quirked and his lips pressed into a thin line. 

“Okay, it does sound kinda cool. But maybe he just said it so we'd be out in the woods looking instead of snooping around his cabin.” 

“The lake stops us from snooping around his cabin, Sam. The bunker just makes us wander into the woods without weapons for protection.” 

“ I'll protect you, Dean.”


	5. Chapter 4

Courting for Dummies Chapter 4  
Courting Gift (Part 3)

“I'll protect you, Dean.” Gabriel mimicked Castiel, using a large stick he found to poke at the ground as they moved further into the forest. “From gross little bugs and leaves that might fall on your pretty nose-hey!” Dean pushed against him and Gabriel stumbled for a moment, chuckling.

“You're such a dick sometimes, you know that right?”

“Only sometimes?” Gabriel whined. “I must be losing my touch.”

“If it's any consolation, I think you're a dick most of the time.” Castiel offered, his sincerity causing Dean to snort and Gabriel to give him a half-hearted glare.

“Why thank you, brother. It means so much to me that you think that.” Sarcasm, as usual, seemed wasted on Castiel, who simply smiled in return.

The sun was still low in the sky and Gabriel let the early morning breeze rush across his face, the frail light warming him. Like this, eyes closed and standing in the sun, he could forget about the world around him.

“Hey.” Jumping slightly, golden eyes blinked open to stare at Dean. “You can lay in the sun later, shouldn't you be spending some quality time with Sam?” 

Glancing ahead, Gabriel spotted Sam at the front of their small group, chatting away with Castiel about the local wildlife, Jo following closely behind but sending back a worried glance.

Dean was right; Gabriel should be up there with Sam, making memories. Just as he was about to run forward Sam turned to look back, the sun shining bright behind him and making Gabriel's breath catch in his throat for a moment. A dimpled smile, a breeze swept Sam's hair, and Gabriel was lost all over again.

“Come on dip shit, you can't stare at him all day.” Dean rolled his eyes, grabbing Gabriel's arm and dragging him forwards.

“Me 'n' Cas thought we could look for the bunker till lunch, then take a wander back to the cabin and take a dive in the lake.” Sam smiled down at him. 

It should have been illegal for someone to look that attractively happy, Gabriel decided, but he couldn't help but grin along with Sam, raising his fine eyebrows in amusement. “I don't have swimming trunks, so looks like it's skinny dipp-”

“-luckily for all of us, Gabe, I'm the one who packed your bag, and you do in fact, have swimming trunks.”

Immediately Gabriel's joyous expression dropped and he pouted, looking over his shoulder to Dean with the best hurt look he could manage. “You always ruin my fun.”

“What are best friends for?”

“Apparently to cock block you”

“No, that's my job.” Jo piqued in, grin on her face as she skipped up ahead. “Come on slow pokes, we'll never get very far with you lot chatting back there.”

“With the way you're moving it's as if this bunker is full of gold.” Dean yelled ahead. Jo turned, eyes sparkling with something that made Gabriel shiver.

“Even better, Rufus' hoard of weapons.”

Now this was something Gabriel had to see.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel was somewhat thankful that they had given up on the search for Rufus' 'Bunker', even if he did have to keep up with the group till lunch time.

All of them were covered in bites from the various bugs that followed them with a vengeance, and though Sam had held his hand for most of the walk, Gabriel found it hard to keep up with Sam's long stride. Jo being the ever caring blocker that she was, wouldn't even let them fall behind to go at Gabriel's pace, insisting they not be left alone.

By the time they got back to the cabin, Gabriel doubted the bunker even existed, it had ended up giving him far too much trouble to even want to see the thing anymore. No hoard of weapons was worth the hell he was putting his skin through. He could feel the sunburn across his face, and judging from Sam’s glances, the Alpha could tell he was irritable.

By no means was Gabriel a creature who enjoyed being caged inside, give him open spaces any day of the week, but he also had horribly sensitive skin. That, coupled with the fact that he had no sun lotion and it was bloody hot when they weren't in the shades of the trees, made for a very snappy Omega.

That lake was looking more and more appealing.

The sun was high in the sky by the time they made it back to the cabin, and Gabriel was first through the doors to change into his swimming trunks. It was only a glance in the mirror that made him flinch. Oh, his skin was slightly red, sure, but the look on his face had been one of pure malice. That wasn't how he had wanted the weekend to go at all.  
It was meant to be fun, making memories. Gabriel was supposed to be enjoying his courting gift and so far he'd had awkward times with Sam and Dean’s boner poking him in the back.

Well he wasn't going to let a little heat ruin his weekend.

Nodding to himself in the mirror, Gabriel changed into his trunks, patting some cold water on his face before giving himself a once over, grin wide.

He was going to rock Sam's world with that smile, he knew it.

Confidence back in place, Gabriel all but skipped back outside.

“You're looking chirpier.” Dean had shrugged off his shirt, laying by the side of the lake in his shorts, soaking up the sun.

“Gotta make the most of this weekend, right? Can't do that while I'm inside moaning about sunburn. You coming for a swim?”

Dean arched his eyebrows, sitting up to look out over the lake.

Jo was sitting on the edge of the dock, her feet just skimming the water, but inside the lake was Castiel, shirtless and swimming backwards. “I'd rather admire the view from here.” Dean murmured, moving so that he was laying on his front, giving him a better view of his Alpha.

“Yeah yeah, don't go stinking up the place with your slick, mister.” Gabriel playfully kicked Dean's shoulder on his way past.

Standing on the dock next to Jo, Gabriel stared out at the clear water, hands on his hips.

“Not going for a swim?”

Slapping a hand to his chest, Gabriel let out a wheezing breath, turning to glance at Sam over his shoulder. “Really? Must you really sneak up on me like that?”

“Couldn't help myself?” Sam offered, looking a little sheepish. “So are you coming for a swim with me?”

The offer was tempting, and getting a little wet and touchy with Sam in the lake sounded like an awful lot of fun, but the longer he waited to answer Sam the more his confidence slipped. Thankfully, Dean came to the rescue.

“Stop trying to make him exercise.” Dean teased. “Why don't you and Cas do a few laps first and then me and Gabe can join in when you're finally tired out.”

“... Okay.” Sam hesitated for a moment, glancing down to Gabe before taking a step back. Gabriel thought he was going to retreat after the rejection, but before he could say anything Sam was taking a running jump off the edge of the pier, making a splash big enough to cover both Gabriel and Dean.

“You dick!” both Dean and Gabriel yelled, shaking off the water.

Sam laughed, grin wide as he pushed his hair away from his face. "You love me really!" he yelled back.


	6. Chapter 5

Courting for Dummies Chapter 5

The image of golden skin, dripping with glistening clear water would forever be etched into Gabriels mind.

On his death bed, he will think of that gorgeous tanned and long body and die a happy Omega. It just so happened that Sam turned a delicious shade of tan rather easily, that mixed with the swimming meant he was all sorts of delectable.

A certain drop of water had caught Gabriel’s full attention. It was making a path from Sams collar bone, over his muscular chest, down the toned stomach before disappearing to his rather annoying and concealing swimming trunks. If Gabriel ever became president he was going to ban swimming trunks for hotties like Sam.  
“Urg, put some clothes on Sam. No one wants to see your man boobs."

Snapping back to reality, Gabriel’s eyes flickered to the pout on Sams adorable face at Deans demand. It made him look like an oversized 12 years old who just found out Santa isn’t real, and Gabriel laughed to himself at the utter disappointment the big Alpha was giving off in waves.

Clearly Sam wanted to show off. The Alpha wanted to posture and pose, proving himself worthy of Gabriel’s affections. Not that it needed proving at all.

Still, Dean threw the towel he’d been sunbathing on at Sams chest, making more noises of disgust. Gabriel knew what his best friend was doing and honestly he was grateful. As much as Gabriel would thoroughly enjoy staring at Sams body for the rest of his life, he had to be cautious.

By no means would Sam take advantage of him, but there were strict protocols that needed to be followed and adhered to.

Still, that didn’t stop Gabriel from throwing his own towel at Castiel’s body once he was out of the water, just a little bit of payback. If Gabriel couldn’t ogle Sam why would he allow Dean to ogle Castiel? Nevertheless they would all need to leave in the morning to get back in time for their Monday evening classes, so staring at partly naked bodies would have to be put on hold for a little while.

A necessary evil he supposed.

“Go on boys, go get dried off. Me ‘n’ Deano are in charge of dinner tonight!” Of course that would have meant more if they weren’t just ordering from a takeaway. Had Gabriel been aware that he was going to be in a remote cabin in the woods for the weekend with Sam he might have actually bought things to cook, so as to impress the hunk of Alpha that was walking away from him.

Hated to see him leave but loved to watch him go.

“Stop panicking so much.” Dean hissed, grabbing Gabriels thin wrist and tugging him back to the cabin a little bit behind the Alphas. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. Sam adores you. He doesn’t care that you’re messy or a loud mouth, or a terrible flirt. All he cares about is that you love him back. Now stop being such a wimp and Alpha up.”

Blinking, Gabriel was shocked speechless at Deans outburst. Sure, Gabriel was a little out of character but –

“Listen to me.” Deans tanned hands were cupping Gabriels face, ensuring they kept eye contact. For once Dean even seemed sincere, and that was the real shocker! “Gabriel. You’re my best friend in the whole goddamn world. I can tell you my secrets and cry on your shoulder, knowing you would stand with me till the end. More than that, more than anything, I want you to feel safe, to be safe.”

Deans eyes were flickering as if searching Gabriels for acknowledgement.

“Pull your head out of your arse and get your act together.”

A startled laugh escaped Gabriels lips, but he grinned. “Was the love confession really needed Deano?”

“Hells yeah it was. How else am I meant to soften that thick skull of yours huh?”

Slapping at Deans arm, Gabriel rolled his eyes. Honestly? He didn’t know what he’d do without his amazing friends. A nudge to the back of his legs had him turning to face Jo, a beautiful smile gracing her soft features.

“I’m much less sappy, but for real, Sam adores you. And if he didn’t? He wouldn’t be worth your time. Keep that in mind.”

Mock saluting his friend Gabriel nodded his head. No more nerves. No more stumbling. Sam had agreed to court the bumbling mess that Gabriel happened to be, so he should stop trying to fight it.

“Can’t change who you are, huh?”

“Why would you want to?” Came the confused response from the doorway. It seemed that while the three of them were ambling along the Alpha’s had gone off ahead with ease to get changed as instructed. Amazing that Alpha’s actually took orders. Sam was freshly showered after his swim, and looked just as appealing in jeans and a shirt.

“Certainly not me!” Gabriel announced, wide grin on his face.

“Good.” Sam smiled back, those perfect dimples forming on his face. “Because I like you just the way you are. Bad mouth included.”

“Please.” Gabriel arched one of his eyebrows, pulling his best sassing face. “My bad mouth happens to be my best quality.”

Dean and Jo gave a laugh, slapping him on the back as they moved past him. “It’s his only quality Sam. Now. We having Chinese tonight? Ellen said there is a great place that actually delivers this far out.”

Three hours later and they had only just finished eating.

Not only had the food been great, but when the delivery address was mentioned they even got some freebies. Apparently Rufus was a great tipper, so the restaurant had wanted to treat his guests.

Both Omega’s pitched in with cleaning away the rubbish, easily moving around each other in the kitchen. They were activists sure, didn’t believe in the ‘common’ roles for Omegas, but hey, they both loved to cook and would often find themselves stepping over each other.

Jo mumbling to herself was hardly noticeable to the two in the kitchen. That was until she spoke up, voice a little shaky. “Guys can you just stop for a minute please?” Both Omegas turned to face Jo, looks of pure innocence on their face, as if they hadn’t just been throwing empty cartons at each other. They had to make kitchen work interesting somehow, right?

“Sup Jo?” She was still scrolling through her phone, eyebrows pinched together. “Earth to Jo?” Gabriel glanced at Dean in curiosity and they silently agreed to investigate the fuss. Sam and Castiel, picking up on Jo’s increased worry through her scent, appeared behind them as they peered over Jo’s shoulder.

“There was a murder on campus.”

“…What?”

“Murder.” Jo repeated. “On our campus. You know? That place where we live.”

Sam was leaning closer now, eyes scanning the article just as Jo’s did. “Doesn’t look like they’re giving names yet, but they’re from the O Ward. Maybe a hate crime?”

As much as Omegas were treasured in modern days, there were still those who went by the old rules. Who hated Omegas, just saw them as breeders. If a ‘breeder’ refused one of these Alphas they were killed on the spot. And on the rare occasions they weren’t? Publicly executed as a message to others.

“But that’s not possible, is it?” Dean questioned with a quiver in his voice, glancing to Castiel. “I thought the school had a huge screening test to stop this kind of thing?”

Mouth drawn into a tight line, Castiel pulled out his own phone. “I’ll contact the principle. If there is a rouge Alpha hanging around we need to set up watch in the campus and surrounding area. Please excuse me.”

Watching Castiel leave the room, Gabriel hummed in thought. “If it was a rouge Alpha, wouldn’t the scent be easy to distinguish from the students and faculty?”

Sam tensed beside him, and Jo sighed. “Possibly. All we can do is keep an eye out for any weird activity. School hasn’t been closed so it’s back to night classes tomorrow.” The worry was still coming off in waves from Jo and it was doing nothing to ease the tension in the room. Surely a murder warranted a closure of the school? Even if it was for a couple of days?

Sam cupped the back of Gabriels neck in his large palm and the Omega felt some of the tension leave his body. There was nothing to worry about, surely? One attack very rarely lead to a spree, and they had security as well as very overprotective Alpha’s.

“I won’t let anything happy to you. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a lot of trouble writing this chapter so I'm sorry if it seems out of place. Thank you all for your support I hope to get in to the swing of things again soon.


	7. Chapter 6

The drive back to Campus was tense to say the least.

The fear of the camper van falling apart was long gone, the news of the murder still hanging heavy in the air.

Castiel’s phone call with the principal had left him in a bitter mood, the only thing he’d managed to do that night was hold Dean in his arms and scent him, nuzzling against his mates neck and growling when anyone approached (Gabriel included!).

Though Castiel and Dean were mated, Dean wasn’t out of the line of fire. If anything it made him more prone to attacks from Traditional Alphas.

Dean Winchester was the ideal Omega. Though Dean would deny it to the day he died, it was true. With a beautiful complexion and great hips, Dean was aesthetically pleasing, but the kicker? Dean was great with children, loved to cook, and was honestly the most sought after Omega in the area, even though he was mated.

On a normal day this would only make Castiel slightly possessive, an arm around Dean’s middle, a well timed kiss. But add in a murder and the threat of Deans life? The poor Omega would be lucky to walk straight until the murderer was caught.

Gabriel on the other hand, would be lucky if he got five minutes to himself. Dean was being extra protective of him thanks to his rather negative history with Kali, which meant Castiel was there too. Add in worried Sam to the mix, plus their assigned buffer Jo, and the five were suddenly inseparable.

Much to Gabriel’s dismay.

Thankfully Monday nights class went off without a hitch.

No one mentioned the murder, the air was far too crisp with the stench of fear. A curfew had been implemented, extra security guards placed around the O Ward, panic buzzers handed to each Omega. Everyone was informed that if they saw anything unusual they were to report it immediately.

The campus, though still open, had taken a lot of precautionary measures to ensure its students safety.

Yet all of these measures didn’t stop Sam scenting Gabriel every few minutes to make sure he wasn’t suddenly anxious, or had somehow picked up a foreign Alpha’s stench. Nor did it stop the constant phone calls to him and Dean, or the general panic that was sweeping through the campus.

If it weren’t for the fact that each gender had to stay in their assigned dorm after curfew, Gabriel was certain that the five would be crammed into one bed.

“Call me if you need anything.”

“Sam if you break curfew they’ll suspend you.”

“I’m serious Gabe. Anything at all. If one of the guards gives you a weird look, or if they try and come into your dorm, give me a call and I’ll come straight over-“

Gabriel pressed his palm over Sams mouth, his eyes narrowed as he stared down (up to) the Alpha. Since he’d found out that Sam liked it when he pushed him, Gabriel hadn’t been so afraid of showing his true stubborn nature.

Gabriel knew a kink when he saw one.

“Samuel Johnathon Winchester. You will head back to your dorm. Get changed into your pj’s, brush your teeth and go to bed. If you feel the need to text me you may do so, but do not expect a reply as I am tired and will be sleeping. I have my alarm, and there are patrols all around this Ward. I also know self-defence and could take you a fight.”

Gabriel ignored the quirk of an eyebrow and the smile against his palm, deciding to move his hand away, folding his arms over his chest.

Now was _not_ the time for Sam to be giving off those ‘try me’ pheromones.

“I will be fine. Dean will be fine. Now _go_ before you get suspended.”

“You’re so sexy when you’re bossing me around.” Sam all but purred, more waves of those delicious pheromones leaving his body as he leant forwards to kiss Gabriel goodbye.

Unfortunately for Sam, Jo’d had enough of waiting around, and grabbed him by the back of his collar, pulling him backwards. (She was making the most of her strength over the sappy Alpha, soon he would be too tall for her to be able to even reach his collar.)

“Night boys! Holla if you need anything.”

Dean and Gabriel watched as their friends left. As soon as they were out of sight the door was closed and bolted. Though they had a patrol and personal alarms, a little extra security could go a long way in making them feel safer.

“Sam really has a kink, huh?”

“Dude that is _so_ gross I don’t want to know about your love life.” Dean laughed, pulling the curtains closed and switching on their lamp, just as Gabriel turned off the main light.

“Dean. Did you _smell_ him? I mean I’m all for bossing Alpha’s around, but I sure hope he likes to take charge in the bedroom.”

“Gabriel.” Looking up, Gabriel’s golden eyes met Deans forest green ones. “Fuck off.”

Snorting out a laugh, Gabriel sat on the edge of his bed, pulling off his shoes and rubbing his sore feet. The day had been long and stressful, already he could hear his bed calling for him.

“Did you know him?”

“Who?” Gabriel asked, even though he was well aware of the person Dean was asking about. How could he not know? It had been announced upon their arrival back at Campus.

Who the Omega Victim was.

“Matt Pike. I’ve been thinking all day of where I know the name from and I’ve come up blank. Which means you knew him.” Dean shuffled closed to Gabriel before sitting himself down next to his friend, their shoulders bumping in a form of comfort. “You knew him. Right?”

“Yeah.” Gabriel breathed. It was hard to admit, truthfully. It still didn’t feel real, to say that Matt was dead. The kid was so kind, had one of the brightest smiles Gabriel had ever seen. Sure, he was a bit weird, had an obsession with bugs, but he was still such a great guy.

Gabriel picked at the fabric of his trousers, chest heavy.

Matt was going to be joining them in the formation of the Omega council. That’s how Dean had heard the name. Gabriel had been _so_ excited.

“You wanna talk about it?” Dean offered. It was sweet, considering how emotionally constipated Dean was. Were the situation a little lighter Gabriel might have even joked about his friends sudden sensitivity.

“I just want to sleep.” Admitting that much was easy. The next part was harder. “Can we share a bed tonight?” It wasn’t that uncommon for the pair to do so. A bad day in class, a fallout with one of their friends and they would sleep on the same bed and cuddle. It was important for Omega’s to have the comfort of those close to them. 

Gabriel and Dean had always been that point of comfort for each other.

“Yeah. We can do that. How ‘bout you go shower, leave the water going and I’ll jump in after you. Then we’ll sleep.”

Standing up, Gabriel started to pull off his top, but paused. “You won’t tell Sam, right? It’s just, he’s worried enough already and-“

“Gabe. If you don’t want me to tell him then I won’t. My mouth is sealed. Now go get that sexy butt into the shower so that we get some sleep already.” Watching Gabriel get undressed as he walked to their bathroom, Dean waited until the door was locked before he jumped for his phone.

Telling Sam was out of the question, but Castiel deserved to know, and he wouldn’t overreact too much.

Sensible under pressure, that was his Alpha.

By the time Gabriel was finished in the shower Dean had received many worried texts, but also a promise from Castiel not to mention his newly found knowledge to Gabriel or Sam. Trust was important between Dean and Gabriel, but if the truth did slip out Dean would simply admit that he told Castiel everything. Which he did.

“Waters running for you, best get it while it’s still hot.”

“Sweet. Why don’t you make a pillow fort on your bed and I’ll jump in after I get naked and wet.”

\----------- Break ----------

Birds were singing. The sun was shining. Gabriel was spooning one of the most comfortable things in the entire world. It also smelt pretty good too. Not quite awesome, but good enough for Gabriel to press his nose into the crook of a neck.

“Gabriel, as much as I enjoy your morning cuddles, we need to get up or we’ll miss class.”

“Pillows should mind their own Goddamn business and not complain so early in the morning about cuddles.” Gabriel growled into Deans neck, his arm tightening around his friend. “Unless you have the promise of chocolate and coffee you better shut up and let me sleep.”

Dean grunted in response. Gabriel’s super human strength had always had him curious, though he had never figured out how such a small Omega got so strong. Or maybe Dean’s ribs were worn down from all of the previous hugging he’d had.

Dean did love hugs after all.

“Sam’ll be here soon to take to you to class.” Immediately that had a groan coming from Gabriel. He didn’t want to get up and get dressed, he wanted to smother Dean with a real pillow and just sleep for an eternity. But on the other hand, if he got dressed and didn’t kill Dean, he might get a good morning kiss from Sam.

Both were very enticing options.

“You get to live another day, Dean.” Untangling himself from his best friend, Gabriel made his way to the bathroom. It was while he was brushing his teeth that he felt a chill against the back of his neck. Like all of his hairs were standing on end, or someone had ‘walked over’ his ‘grave’.

“Gabe!” Dean was in the doorway, his eyes panicked.

Now Gabriel knew something was really wrong. It’s like the tension of the whole O Ward had just tripled in a matter of seconds. Spitting out his toothpaste, Gabriel wiped the side of his mouth and pushed past Dean, heading for their door.

Just as he was about to undo the lock, the handle turned, a jerking motion shaking the wooden door in its frame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to 67jubilee.tumblr.com for taking a look over this chapter for me!


	8. Chapter 7

Gabriels’ heart was beating quickly in his chest, but he pushed down the scent of fear, mentally willing Dean to follow suit. If he was going to die in his room with his friend, then he was going to go with a fight, and a big one at that.

Taking a step back from the door, Gabriel motioned for Dean to grab a weapon, Gabriel unplugging the lamp near the door, wielding it like a sword. The door shook a little harder, and then it stilled.

Gabriel’s golden gaze was trained on the handle, willing his lock to keep the intruder away.

After a few moments his gaze flickered to Dean, who looked equally concerned, though the scent of fear was quickly leaving the O Ward. The sound of running filled the corridor outside their room, and the arrival of familiar scents eased their nerves.

“Room check! Is everyone okay in there?”

Breathing a sigh of relief Gabriel dropped the lamp, his hands fumbling with the locks on the door. The door opened to the face of an O Ward guard. “Are you both unharmed?” Nodding his head, Gabriel pushed past the guard, his head peeking out into the hallway to see. What he wanted to see he wasn’t sure, but there were other curious heads peering out. The scent of the lone Alpha was strong. Strongest around the doors near Gabriel, including his own.

“Are you okay?” The guard was turning him, looking him over to ensure he wasn’t injured. It was clear that the guards were more worried about the Omega’s in this area than the rest of the corridor, and they were already working on ridding the scent of fear and strange Alpha from the hallway.

“Do you know his target?” Gabriel asked, ignoring the concerns of the guard who had finally stopped looking Gabriel over.

“I really don’t think _that’s_ the question we should be asking.” Dean hissed. “A strange Alpha around and you’re keeping us locked up in here without proper protection? If _one_ rogue Alpha can get past a fleet of guards, the outside locks, _and_ make it up three flights of stairs to try doors before they’re noticed, what are we to do to protect ourselves where you fail?”

Dean had a point, one that Gabriel would echo when he found his voice again. The Alpha had a target. He didn’t stop at any of the below floors, he was direct. With a purpose. Which meant one of the doors he tried held the Omega target he was after, but the scents were so mingled he was confused.

That was the only thing that had saved their lives.

Just as Gabriel was going to voice his concerns, a body collided with his from the back, and he was pulled up high off the ground. Squeaking, Gabriel slapped at the familiar muscular arms that were holding him. “Sam!”

“Gabriel!” If the scent of distress rolling off Sam wasn’t a sure giveaway, then the way Gabriel was squeezed and put down, only to be turned and scented, was  proof that the Alpha courting him had been more than a little worried of his safety.

Considering Dean was making similar noises of both amusement and discomfort, Gabriel believed it was safe to assume that Castiel had joined them too.

Just as Gabriel was about to respond to Sam, his Alpha was growling, posturing against the guard who had come to check on the Omega’s. “How **_dare_** you let the rogue enter the ward!” The guard shrunk back, looking for help from his fellow Alphas, who each look equally terrified of Sam. “Do you think this is a **_game_**?”

“Sam.” Placing his hand on Sam’s shoulder, Gabriel used his pheromones to try to help relax his courter. “I’m fine. For now at least. We shouldn’t focus on what _could_ have happened, we should be planning on how to protect this ward going forward.”

Though Sam’s anger didn’t diminish, he was able to take it under his control, breathing deep to help the calming process. “You’re right.” He seemed to soften a little more. “You’re always right. And you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.” Gabriel grinned, though he did give a pointed look to the broken lamp on the floor. “Can’t say my furniture agrees with my weapon choices though. Suppose I should get a baseball bat or something.”

“You shouldn’t _have_ to.”

“And yet here I am, one broken lamp later wishing I had a baseball bat.”

Dean snorted in the background, but pushed his lips together to try and hold in the chuckles. How did Gabriel manage to turn every serious situation into a funny one? And more to the point, how could he switch between serious and joking so quickly? It was a talent that Dean envied, that was for sure.

“Come on Gabriel. As if you would have the strength to swing a bat. It’d be far too heavy for your little body.” Dean teased.

“Oh sweetie, I’m sure I’ll be holding something much bigger than a bat soon enough, _if you know what I mean_.” A side glance at Sam, a wink, and a pathetic moan from Sam shortly after, and Gabriel was back in his high spirits. Nothing quite like adrenaline to get an Alpha’s interest. Though he was hiding it well, Gabriel was feeling rather hysterical himself, after nearly meeting his demise. He needed to focus on something to keep himself from falling apart.

“I won’t let you out of my sight again.” The gruff voice was Castiel’s. The alpha was still fawning over Dean, his hands never once leaving him, even as he studied his mate for wounds.

“Cas-“

“No, Dean!” The almost roar of Castiel was enough to have Gabriel quaking in fear, watching as Castiel gave Dean a hard Alpha stare. It was something that Gabriel had seen used plenty of times, but never by Castiel, and never on Dean. Even his friend was shocked, green eyes flickering in wonder and slight excitement. “I will not let you out of my sight. Ever. Again.”

“Okay.” Dean’s response was breathy, could even be described as a little star struck, and judging from the sudden scent of slick and arousal in the air, he was rather pleased with the new assurance from his mate. Of course, excitement comes with embarrassment, and Gabriel coughed to try and get rid of the red flush on his face. Second hand embarrassment was never fun.

“I’ll speak with the Head of the school. We can’t have the ward only protected by outside guards. We should have mixed housing, at least until the rogue is caught.” Always with the smart ideas, Sam Winchester. One of the many reasons that Gabriel liked him so much. While others would panic and worry, Sam was at the front line, ideas pouring from him in the form of suggestions and offers.

Always the wise man, Sam. Gabriel may have turned an adoring look at the alpha.

Though the idea of mixed housing bought other notions into Gabriel’s mind. Notions that Dean was quick to damper. “The unmated wouldn’t be allowed to share rooms, Sam. You know the rules. No amount of rogues would make the school change their position on that.”

“Then we should have hall masters! I don’t care who stays where, Dean. I care that my brother and my mate are safe!”

“Gabriel is not yet your mate and you would do well to remember it.” Castiel growled, suddenly in there, pushing at Sam’s chest, causing his friend to stumble backwards.

“Listen, Alpha’s.” Gabriel hissed, pushing his body between them, holding them apart from each other. “You’re both important and strong, but neither of you have the sway over me you want. I may not yet be Sam’s mate, but I am well on my way there. This has nothing to do with the rogue, and you both _know_ it.”

Each Alpha’s stare wavered before they stepped back.

“I’m sorry, brother.”

“Me too, Gabe.”

“Good. Now we’ve put our knots away how about we actually figure out what’s going on, and find a way to stop it, huh?”

The kicked puppy expression stuck itself on both Sam’s and Castiel’sfaces for the rest of the day. And Gabriel wouldn’t apologise to them: if they wanted to act like pups then that was how he would treat them. There were things far more important taking place then worrying about the two Alpha’s fighting each other over who he belongs to.

As expected, the Head of the school was opposed to allowing shared quarters for those who were unmated. Fortunately, this meant that Castiel and Dean would able to share a room. Unfortunately, it meant that Sam and Gabriel would have the same constraints that they’d had for a while now. It wasn’t until the B Ward offered to assist that matters were resolved.

For every Alpha and Omega sharing a room, a Beta would be present. Each parent would be notified, and the room changes would take place over a long weekend. It would help address some concerns about the issues of a Rogue Alpha on campus, while keeping the Omega’s safe from potential enemies in their own quarters.   


It was brilliant, really. And it should have been considered sooner.

“It may be best for you to move into my dorm.” Castiel’s voice was soft, but firm as he spoke to his brother. “You’ll be safe with me-“

“And what about Dean? I can’t be under your charge with Dean, for one, that’s an awful idea you can’t control one of us let alone both. And two? What happens when you’re preoccupied with Dean’s scent and I’m left to my own devices?”

“Then Jo will stay with us as well.” It was Dean who offered the idea, his glance falling to his brother. “Sam too. It’ll be like in the cabin. We might piss each other off a few times, but we’ll be safer together.”

“Safer, but cramped.” Gabriel snorted. Truthfully he’d rather be in his parents’ house, far away from whatever was happening in the campus, but until the school could identify the Alpha and the real threat, the Head was not making any ‘rash’ decisions.

Because leaving Omega’s to the slaughter isn’t rash at all.

“Okay. So we all move in together. It’s settled then.” A warm hand reached out to brush against Gabriel’s arm, and he smiled up to Sam, the tension in his chest finally starting to ease.

Not that it would last much longer, trouble was brewing.

A few days after word had spread through campus and trio’s were being made, a dark figure lurked on the outskirts of the campus.

Pacing from paw to paw, the Alpha snarled, watching as the defence grew against him. Omega’s protected by Alpha’s and Beta’s, coddled as if they were worth more than the children they could provide. It was outrageous, sickening. What good was an Omega without a pup growing inside of them? Without a knot to warm.

Useless. A waste of space.

But that would be corrected.

He would have his prize, and take it by force if he needed.

Should a few little breeders die in the process, his masters would not blame him. As long as the golden prize followed, ready to be pupped, no punishment would befall him.

What a golden prize it would be.


	9. Chapter 8

Courting for Dummies Chapter 8

The long weekend for moving furniture around was warmly welcomed, the school week having been yet another boring and mind draining one. Needless to say getting worried calls from your parents every night to make sure you hadn’t been captured and raped just added to the stress of education.

Though parents weren’t all too happy with the idea of a rogue stalking their children, they were all informed that pulling their children from the school could make matters worse. With the new system in place ‘your children are much safer than they have been previously’.

Scaremongering at its finest.

“Remind me again... huff... why  _I’ve_  got to carry  _your_  heavy stuff?” Hair tied back and grimace on her face, Jo was currently lugging a chest of drawers from the O ward to the A, Gabriel and Dean following behind her, each carrying a box.

“Alas, I am simply a lowly Omega with no strength.” Gabriel whined, the box slipping in his arms so that he was carrying it closer to the ground. “Strength... dwindling…” Now hunched over, Gabriel was making what could only be described as donkey noises. “Too heavy for my… weak body.” Dropping the box, Gabriel draped himself over it. “I can’t go on… Dean, you must bear 20 children on my behalf.”

Snorting and pushing his face into the box to try and hide his laughter from Jo, Dean had to stop as well, his shoulders shaking.

Dropping the chest of drawers onto the floor, Jo turned, hands on her hips and red faced.

“Gabriel I  _swear_  to the Omega Goddess-“

“Is everything okay?”

“Sam!” All at once it seemed as if Gabriel’s ‘dwindling’ energy had been restored. Jumping up to his feet, Gabriel lifted up his box, ready to get moving again. “Where’s Cas?”

“He’s just finishing off his side of the room. Figured I’d come over and help move some stuff.” Grabbing the discarded chest of drawers, Sam lifted it with ease, even grabbing Gabriel’s box from him, grinning wide as he headed back to his and Castiels dorm in the A ward.

“My  _hero_.” Gabriel cooed, throwing a teasing glance to a rather frustrated Jo on his way past.

“Shouldn’t you go back to your dorm and  _I don’t know_ , maybe grab  **another**  box?” Jo hissed, stalking after Gabriel and Sam in annoyance.

“But then who will escort this big hulking mass of muscles?” Gabriel blinked innocently, though the expression was quickly ruined when he threw a rather dirty glance towards Sam’s arms. “He might get  _lonely_.”

“ ** _Gabriel_**.” Jo’s voice very much resembled a growl, and for just a moment a thought crossed Gabriel’s mind that he’d taken this a little too far. “I’ve had enough of this ‘soft’ Omega  _bullshit_. I’ve seen you take Sam down. I’ve seen you take Castiel down. Stop  _fucking_  around and grab another box before I-“

“Woah! Jo… Um. You wanna take my box and I’ll head back with Gabe to grab some more?” Dean offered his box as if it were a white flag, and even Sam was watching on with worry. It wasn’t like Jo to get so worked up over one of Gabriel’s jokes.

Snatching the box from Dean, Jo shoved past Gabriel, marching up to the A Ward.

“Wow.” Gabriel muttered, his eyes following Jo warily. “Dean I’m sleeping with you tonight.”

“Agreed.”

“Maybe you two really should head back and grab a few more boxes?” Sam offered with a small smile. He’d rather have Gabriel walking without having to carry a thing, but the Omega was no push over. Jo was right. Gabriel could fight with the best of Alphas. Dean could too. No reason they couldn’t do some heavy lifting.

“Yeah. You’re on the ground floor right?”

“Room 13.”

Blowing a kiss in Sam’s direction, Gabriel watched with glee as his courters face flushed in delight. “See you in a bit Sammykins.” Wiggling his fingers in Sams direction, Gabriel was pulled away by Dean, back to their old ward.

“Finally getting back to your usual self huh?” Dean grinned, keeping hold of Gabriel’s hand as they ascended the stairs to the third floor.

“Yeah. I read up on the mood and behavioural changes, it’s supposed to be quite common.” Thankfully he was feeling more like himself. The Trickster. Confident and in your face.

“I went through something similar with Cas. Only it was more kicking his ass and keeping him as far away from me as possible. Always great for courting.” Both Omega’s chuckled to themselves. Grabbing the last few boxes from their dorm, having moved most of them earlier in the day, the two took one last look around their room.

“S’weird. I kinda grew to like this tiny room.” Dean mused, looking over to the corner where his things used to be. Now all that sat there was an unmade bed and a side table.

Wrinkling his nose, Gabriel nudged Dean with his hip. “It’ll be strange, living with two Alpha’s and a Beta. But we can do it. We’ve faced worst. Like the toilet blockage of last June.”

“Dude!” Dean shook his head, pushing Gabriel slightly before hurrying out of the room. “We agreed never to bring that up again!”

Cackling, Gabriel followed Dean out of the room. Melancholy didn’t suit the Winchester, and Gabriel would do all in his power to stop it.

It’s what best friends are for.

\----

“This is  _not_  what best friends are for.”

“Look. Dean and Gabriel want to sleep together tonight. I don’t like it either, but we’ve got to make sure they’re comfortable.” Sam was currently pulling out some spare blankets from one of the boxes that Dean and Gabriel had packed, trying to scent them discretely.

“I should stay with Dean. I can protect him.”

“What, Gabriel can’t? Or for that matter, Dean can’t protect himself?” Jo’s tone was snappy, irritable, and it was putting both Castiel and Sam on edge.

“Of course Dean can protect himself, I didn’t-“

“No, you didn’t.” Jo huffed. “You didn’t think. You didn’t mean. It doesn’t matter. You two better stop treating them like they’re to be coddled. Like they’re something fragile that shouldn’t see the light of day. Yeah, it’s scary. It is for everyone on campus. But did you ever stop to think about how  _they_  feel?” That was most definitely Jo’s lecture tone. She had picked it up well from her mother.

“They’re Omega’s. That doesn’t make them helpless, or weak, or any variation in between. The sooner you start treating them like equals, the sooner they’ll start acting like it. You think it’s fun for me to watch the two strongest guys I knew growing up turn into some kind of ‘underdog’? That I like seeing Gabriel and Dean fear for their lives because of some – some asshole-!” Before Jo could continue in her half rant half crying session, she was enveloped between two warm bodies.

Castiel and Sam stood shocked as Dean and Gabriel held Jo, speaking softly to her and moving her to the nearest bed. Obviously they’d all underestimated just how much this dorm move affected them, the emotional strain was large on all of them, and Jo seeing her friends might be in trouble was just the thing that pushed her over the edge.

“Hey, Jo.” Gabriel was running his fingers through her now loose hair, trying to calm her like they did when they were younger. “Listen to me. Can you hear me?” Dean was holding her tightly as she sobbed, but he didn’t speak, letting Gabriel take control of the situation. A positive hiccup from Jo, and Gabriel continued. “You’re sweet. We’re safe. You’re right, we can take care of ourselves. But damn it Jo we’re all in this situation. You, Sam, Cas. All of us have got to deal with this. So don’t cry because me and Dean are in so called ‘danger’. Cry because that sweater  _so_ doesn’t go with those shoes.”

A friendly punch to Gabriel’s chest and Jo laughed lightly, rubbing the wetness from her face. Dean loosened his grip, but still stayed close to Jo, resting his face against her back and scenting her to comfort. “Like you can give fashion advice. I haven’t forgotten about the green trousers, Gabe.”

“When addressing me you shall refer to me as Gabe the Babe-“ This time it was a pillow hitting him, and he laughed as he fell to the floor, holding the pillow up in defence as another quickly smacked down to hit him.

The Alpha’s looked on with amusement, glad that the situation had been resolved. They knew how to calm down an emotional Dean and a hyper Gabriel, but an angry Jo they’d never had to face before. She was usually so calm and collected. Trust Gabriel and Dean to handle a situation better than they ever could.

Jo had been right. They couldn’t afford to coddle Dean and Gabriel no matter how much they wanted to.

They could handle themselves better than any Alpha.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by the wonderful Mortalcreator on tumblr. www.mortalcreator.tumblr.com/


	10. Chapter 9

Their first night crammed into one room was… interesting.

Thankfully the Alpha dorms were larger than the Omegas (and boy would Gabriel be screaming to the council about that), but five bodies in one room was going to cause issues, unless the room was the size of a small cathedral. With Dean and Gabriel in a double bed, Jo in a single, Castiel in the other double bed and Sam on the floor, the room quickly went from spacious to cramped.

It didn’t help that Dean had a tendency to hoard pillows in the night just to throw them out of the bed.

The most distracting thing, at least for Castiel, were the soft huffs of breath he knew were from Dean. Little whimpers and sighs. Castiel could even hear as Dean shifted his hips, which is when he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to force himself to sleep.

Being so hyper tuned to Dean was usually great, but when he couldn’t touch his mate it was like torture. The absolutely worst kind of torture. Being in the same room, only a bed away, and not being allowed close. Castiel didn’t _hate_ Gabriel for wanting to share a bed with Dean, but he certainly didn’t like him much at that moment either.

By the time morning finally rolled around Castiel could feel his eye twitching. The room had been flooded by Dean and Gabriel’s pheromones, a way for them to make themselves at ease, but it was making Castiel’s skin crawl. He wanted to go over to Dean’s bed and wrap himself around the Omega, holding him tightly and scent him until Dean’s pheromones were a natural presence rather than one made to be comforting for his change in scenery.

It was only when Dean’s face appeared in his line of view that he realised how tense he had been. And just how little sleep he had managed to get.

“Hey.” Dean looked a little sheepish as he perched himself on the side of Castiel’s bed. “You good?”

“Fine.” Castiel just about managed to make it believable, at least he had thought so until Dean frowned at him.

“Cas. You’re stinking up the place with frustration. And you have serious bags under your eyes, didn’t you sleep at all?”

Slowly blinking said eyes that were all of a sudden very sore, Castiel offered a small quirk of his lips, trying to reassure Dean he was indeed ‘fine.’ “I’m –“

“If you say fine I swear I’ll cut you-“

“Gabriel!” Dean hissed, throwing a glare over his shoulder at his friend. “You’re not helping the situation.”

“Sure, because the situation is going to be helped by beating around the bush.”

“What-“ Sam yawned and stretched from his position on the floor like a giant puppy, his floppy head lifting to look up between the two beds, first at Gabriel, then at Dean and Castiel. “What’s going on?”

“Castiel was up all night because he couldn’t hold Dean, and Gabriel is pissed that his cuddle buddy is gone.” Jo piqued up from her bed, casually reading a book. The drama was amusing enough, but honestly she would rather not get involved.

Rubbing his eyes, Sam yawned widely once again. “Oh.” Just a usual morning then. Sam knew better than most just how annoyed Castiel got when he didn’t get his ‘Dean’ time. It was a mate thing. No, it was more than that. It was a true mate thing. Not that he would ever mention that to Dean, his brother was already big headed enough without knowing that Castiel is his true mate.

“Breakfast?” Dean asked, hopefully, glancing between his friends. When all else fails, it’s best to rely on the one thing Dean Winchester always could. His stomach.

\-----

Due to Castiel’s night with Dean, or lack thereof, he was being rather possessive with his mate. Arm a steady force around Dean’s middle, Castiel wasn’t letting Dean out of his sight, staying beside him even when Dean insisted it wasn’t needed. Castiel wasn’t usually one to push, but he needed the contact with his mate.

Despite all of Gabriel’s complaining that morning, he found the image of them together sweet. Dean, leaning against Castiel and laughing at his jokes, and Cas, holding him and smothering him with affection.

Sweet, and kind of sickening.

But then maybe Gabriel was just being bitter. With everyone on high alert, both Jo and Sam were taking everything far too seriously. Including making sure Gabriel wasn’t left alone with Sam even for a moment, and that Jo was always present outside of class hours.

"Gabriel. Are you okay?" Sam’s large hand reached out to touch Gabriel's shoulder, barely brushing it as he checked on his future mate. "You don't look so good. Maybe we should skip class for today."

"Sweet." Gabriel half grinned. "But no dice. If I ever want to get a job and kick Alphas to the ground I have to stay educated."

There was a spark in Sam’s eyes, like a challenge mixed with delight. Gabriel chose to ignore it for the time being. He'd rather focus on his bland breakfast- okay, not rather. But he had to focus on his bland breakfast or he'd get ideas he really shouldn't be having about the Alpha currently courting him.

What had happened to his courting guide anyways? He'd have to dig that out and make sure they're on track still.

"Gabriel wanting to study? You must be ill." Dean’s concern was genuine despite his stab at Gabriel's usual party attitude. Instead of his usual witty comment, Gabriel simply quirked an eyebrow in Dean’s direction. 

"Not exactly like I can cuddle up with an Alpha, is it?"

A soft whine from Sam, and Jo was kicking the Alpha under the table, fixing him with a "don't you even try it" stare.

Coughing into his hand, Sam looked over to Dean with the saddest expression he could muster, praying his older brother wouldn't push the subject. If Gabriel wanted to study then Sam would fully support him, and should that mean they sit really close together at his desk later that day, then so be it.

It was a sacrifice Sam was willing to make.

"Myself and Dean will be out tonight." Castile casually announced, out of the blue. Supposedly the talk of couples had spurred Castiel’s mind to jump to his and Dean’s evening plans. It wasn't the strangest topic jump they'd seen from Castiel.

"Yeah? Where are you taking my boy on a date huh?" Jo wiggled her finger at Castiel, as if ready to judge his next response if it wasn't good enough.

"We're-"

"None of your business-!" Dean flushed, slapping his hand over Castiels mouth at the same time he fixed Jo with a glare. "Me and Cas can do stuff without you knowing. Once in a while it's nice to have secrets."

"A pout isn't good for your expression Dean. Wrinkles." Gabriel lightly chided. 

"I'm not pouting! I'm just saying that maybe we don't have to tell you guys everything."

Castiel peeled Deans hand from where it was slapped over his mouth, nodding his head in agreement with his mate. "Dean is correct. Unless there is an emergency do not try and contact us. Dean and I would like to spend some time together alone."

Gabriel eyed Jo, waggling his eyebrows playfully and earning a snort of laughter from her. “Don’t want to interrupt your alone time.”

\----

Dean was excited. Beyond excited! So excited he couldn't think of a better word. With everything that had gone on lately he hadn't been able to spend quality time with Cas.

Sure, there had been the cabin. But Dean was so focused on making sure Sam didn't do something he would regret that he never got to be alone with Cas. With the whole campus on high alert, and Jo sticking to her friendly duties, Dean could almost relax. (Campus was on high alert, which warrants some nervousness). 

When Dean and Castiel left their friends, it was with high spirits, hands laced and excitement in their hearts.

"There is a small lake, not too far." The pure joy in Castiel’s voice had Dean laughing to himself. Trust his Alpha to get all giddy about being alone around a lake. Hopeless romantic much?

"We can go if you want to," Dean settled on, giving Cas a knowing look.

"I think you will enjoy the atmosphere," was the embarrassed reply. 

The walk really wasn't that long, but the campus still seemed like a speck in the distance. As they were mated, Castiel had gained special permission from the school council to leave the grounds with Dean. Anyone who knew how protective Castiel was of Dean wouldn't dare harm him anyway.

"Look! The perfect spot for a picnic."

Even if he was a little soft.

Rolling his eyes, Dean walked closer to the lake with Castiel, the Alpha pulling out a picnic cloth from his bag, laying it down for Dean. "Did you bring snacks too?" he asked hopefully, trying to peer into the backpack. 

"Mini pizzas, crisps, and..." Castiel rummaged, proudly bringing up a small wrapped item. "Some pie."

"Cas!" Dean practically squealed, grabbing the pie from Castiel’s outstretched hand, eagerly unwrapping the treat. "You are the best!" Licking his lips, Dean carefully took the first bite, his groan audible as the flavours burst inside his mouth.

Castiel seemed nearly as happy as Dean was, watching his mate. Pie was a rare treat when Gabriel was around. Usually it ended it squabbles between them, which had led to the pair agreeing to give up pie when in the other’s company.

Soon enough the pie slice was finished, and Dean was licking the mess from his fingers. Castiel, now sitting next to Dean, leant closer, teasingly licking along Deans hand to catch some of the filling he'd missed.

Offering his hand to Castiel, Dean had to hold back his moan as the Alpha cleaned off the rest of his hand. Officially pie filling free, Dean wiped his hand on Castiel’s shirt, laughing at the look of distaste on his mates face.  Grabbing the thin tanned wrist, Castiel leant forwards, lips brushing against Deans.

“You’re such a tease, Cas.”

“Calling me a ‘tease’ implies that I won’t give you what you desire.” Cas murmured, his fingers gripping Deans hips as he leant in for another kiss.

Lazy kisses, wondering hands and soft sounds passed between them. When they finally pulled apart, the sky was darkening, a deep orange turning to red, and a few clouds passing by in the soft wind. Tilting his head back, Dean let Cas nose at his neck, scenting him.

As the breeze passed, it rustled the leaves around them, Dean giggling as Cas nipped at his neck.

‘ _Snap_ ’.

Dean paused, senses perking at the sound of movement. He held his breath for a moment, listening, but relaxed as Castiel continued to scent him. Surely Cas would have noticed if it was anything to worry about.

_‘Snap’._

This time Castiel stopped too, face still buried in Dean’s neck, but listening for movement. An unease rolled in his stomach, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Pulling away from Dean, Castiel’s head whipped around, staring into the forest around them.

Dean shifted, looking to Castiel with concern.

“Bab-“

“Sh.” Cas stood from the blanket, back turned to Dean as his eyes scanned the area.

“Get the stuff packed. It’s not safe here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks scorchedangel.tumblr.com for taking a look over this!


	11. Chapter 10

_  “Get the stuff packed. It’s not safe here.” _

The words were echoing in Dean’s mind as his hands scrambled to bunch up the blanket, shoving it into Castiel’s backpack without bothering to fold it. If Castiel said it wasn’t safe, then it  _really wasn’t safe_. His mate would never joke around like that.

As soon as the bag was crammed with all of their belongings, Dean stumbled to his feet, hand reaching for Castiel’s, grabbing it as he stared into the bleak forest. “Cas-“

“We’ll take the longer route back to Campus.” Castiel offered, answering Dean’s unspoken question. “It’s well lit. More foot traffic.” The curfew was still in place, but that didn’t stop couples walking around campus until the very last minute. 

There was strength in numbers, and though Castiel knew that Dean could take care of himself, he would feel better if Dean wasn’t the only Omega out here.

The foot path did little to ease Castiel’s anxiety at their surroundings, but with Dean firmly against his side, hand being squeezed, he felt a little more in control. Whatever or whoever it was that had been watching them didn’t follow as they moved back to Campus.

As soon as the Alpha guards came into view Dean relaxed as well, glancing behind them once more before tugging at Castiel’s hand, shaky smile in place. “We’re fine.”

“We are.” Castiel’s smile was stronger than Deans, more certain. “Though we should still report to the principal- ah, well, I can go report if you’d rather stay in the dorm?” It had been Dean’s brief look of panic that had Castiel back tracking over his offer.

“Um. Would you mind if I waited in the dorm?”

“Of course not, Dean.”

The pair kissed as soon as they passed the Alpha guards, but Dean could still feel eyes watching him.

\-------------------

“Could you scent them?”

Dean was safely back in the shared dorm, his hands weaving through Gabriel’s hair as he braided it, much to Gabriel’s delight. He did love someone touching his hair.

“Nah. Which is weird right? There wasn’t any smoke, and the lake was clear, so nothing should have prevented us from scenting them.” Finished with his braiding, after all there was only so much one could do when the hair was so short, Dean leant back against the bed, thoughtful.

“It is kinda weird.” Gabriel offered, glancing as his hair through the reflection provided by the back of his phone. “But it could have been anything. You didn’t scent them. You didn’t see them. Maybe it was a squirrel that you spooked off with your loud love making.”

Snorting from his position on the opposite bed, Sam glanced over to the Omegas. “Gabe has a point. With no sighting or scenting, you can’t be sure it was anything more than your senses playing tricks on you.”

“But on both Cas  _and_  Dean?” Jo piped from her newly claimed desk, pencil tapping against her homework. “Doesn’t that seem just a little less plausible? Sure, fooling one of them, but both…”

Silence seemed to grip the room as they each considered what could have caused the noise. It was only when the door opened that the silence was broken, Dean jumping from the bed to pull Castiel into a quick kiss, smiling at his Alpha.

“What did the principal say?”

“That we are to remain ever cautious.” Castiel sighed, hands settling on Dean’s hips as he answered Sam’s question. “That without a confirmed sighting there is nothing that can be done. We are to continue to report any suspicious activity, but no other reports have come in yet about that area, causing them to dismiss it.” Scoffs from around the room had Castiel nodding in agreement, hands moving from Dean’s hip so he could take his hands instead.

“We just won’t go out there for a little while. That’s all.” Dean offered, fingers once again entwined with Castiel’s. “Doesn’t stop us from having dates, y’know. Besides, maybe the principal is right. It could have been nothing.”

“Yeah.” Gabriel offered, sounding a lot surer than he felt. “It was probably some wild animal. Nothing to worry about!”

Though they wanted to believe Gabriel, the group still locked their door that night, each too restless to have a full night’s sleep.

\----------------------------

“Rise and shine!”

Gabriel groaned into pillow, willing the loud voice to go away and disturb some other sleeping person. It seemed though, that luck was not on his side.

“Gabe, c’mon!”

The puppy like whine was familiar, in an adorable sort of way, but Gabriel wasn’t letting go of his grasp on sleep so easily. Which is why, in his defence, his leg jerked out, kicking whoever was trying to wake him in the leg.

“Fuck!”

Grinning into his pillow, Gabriel murmured something close to ‘it serves you right, sleep thief’, but may have been mistake for ‘mhmfghmm, hmmhrfm’.

“Hey, short stack.” That voice was much closer than Gabriel expected it be, so he jumped, startled. Blinking sleepily, he turned his confused expression to Jo. “That’s it sleepy head. Are you gonna get up today or what? We have Archery lessons.”

Just as Gabriel was about to tell Jo just where she could stick said archery lessons, Sam spoke up, still sounding slightly wounded from the kick to his leg. Oops.

“We’re doing mixed classes today. I thought it would be cool if we partnered up?”

Now that really did perk Gabriel’s attention.

“Sure. Gimme 20 minutes.” Pushing his way out of the covers, and a little grumpy to see that Cas and Dean had already started their morning cuddle fest, Gabriel made his way to the bathroom to prepare for the day.

Archery was enjoyable, at least. Better than most of the other sports that Gabriel was coerced into, like jogging. Or running. Or sit ups.

“Can I go first?”

The adorable dimpled smile had Gabriel waving his hand in a ‘please continue my fair lady’ motion. “Knock yourself out, Sammich.”

While Sam got ready to fire his set of arrows, Gabriel’s gaze wandered, landing on Dean and Castiel being rather intimate with their own bow and arrow. Raising his eyebrows, Gabriel took in the image the pair made.

Dean was stood with his legs apart, his back pushed into Castiel’s chest as one of the Alphas hands held steady on Dean’s hip, the other resting atop of Dean’s hand.

“That’s it, Dean.” Was the breathy sound that Castiel made, nose pressing into Dean’s hair to scent him.

The movement that Dean’s throat made drew more than just Gabriel’s attention, and he found himself flushed as he watched Dean lick his lips, then bite them in a flirty manner.

The pheromones the pair were giving off was enough to have Gabriel pulling at his shirt collar, attempting to cool himself down.

Which was how he missed Sam shooting all of his arrows at the target, precisely and with a grin.

Well. If he couldn’t watch Sam now, maybe he could do the next best thing.

“Woo!” Slapping Sam on the shoulder, Gabriel grinned at his courter. “Look at that. Nice shots.” If he happened to squeeze Sam’s muscular arm while admiring the well beaten targets, that was  _his_ business.

“Your turn. You ever used a bow and arrow before?”

Much to Gabriel’s delight, before anyone else could speak for him, he gave a rather chirpy “Nope!”.

Dean snorted, but managed to make it look like a believable enough cough. Gabriel would get him back for that later, but now he had to play innocent and legitimate. Thankfully Sam was much too gleeful to notice any of the hushed laughter at Gabriel’s outright lie.

As if to drum home the lie that he had never used one before, he picked up the bow and arrow, setting it ready for shooting only to turn and face Sam, causing a yelp from anyone who saw him, classmates diving to the floor for safety. “Do you hold it like this?”

Sam quickly turned Gabriel around, seemingly just in time as Gabriel released his grip, causing the arrow to go flying right over the target.

Gabriel could hardly contain his excitement as Sam nodded to himself, hands already reaching for another arrow.

“It’s okay, I’ll show you.”

The way Sam’s large hands managed to cover Gabriel’s hips had him staring in surprise, stupefying him enough to easily allow Sam the opportunity to position Gabriel for the impromptu archery lesson.

Their height difference became more apparent as Sam had to bend at the knees, mouth now directly next to Gabriel’s ear, causing him to shiver in delight. The large hand that steadied him was still on his hip, fingers dipping under his shirt to lightly press against his skin, making warmth bloom over his face.

Pulling his arm back, readying to shoot, Gabriel huffed a breath of surprise as Sam’s other hand pushed against his chest, straightening his position and pushing their bodies closer together.

For a moment Gabriel’s eyes went crossed, chest heaving as he stifled a moan.

No way would Jo let this continue if she heard him moan, let alone if their teacher heard him!

“Pull back a little more, that’s it.”

How Gabriel was ever meant to make eye contact with his classmates again he wasn’t sure, but the moment that Sam’s fingers dipped just below the band of Gabriel’s trousers he released the arrow, feeling it leave from the <i>woosh</i> of air against him, and the light cheers from around him.

Mainly Alphas who didn’t realise that Gabriel was currently heading the omega archery leader board and had been since he joined the club.

Once Archery had finished, Dean cornered Gabriel in the O changing rooms.

“You missed.” It was meant in a scolding manner, Gabriel was sure, but the grin on Deans face just made Gabriel smirk in return, shrugging his shoulders.

“You said you never missed.” Another Omega piqued, issuing a round of laughter.

“Let me clarify.” Gabriel stood on a nearby bench, motioning for his classmates to step closer, making Dean roll his eyes at the ever overdramatic Omega that he called friend.

“I only ever miss on  _purpose_.”


	12. Chapter 11

“I only ever miss on purpose.”

For the rest of the day Sam was glued to Gabriel like his life depended on it, hands touching as often as he could, so often in fact Jo started to slap them off Gabriel, scolding the Alpha.

It made Dean smile, watching his brother flirt relentlessly with Gabriel. They were well into the courting process now, Sam just had to officially meet Michael and state his intentions for Gabriel, see what the response was. At the end of the day the decision would be Gabriels, and his alone, but Michael was a traditional kind of guy, and played the role of father more often than Dean had even heard Gabriels real dad mentioned. The gesture of asking permission would go a long way, even if it was pointless.

A warm hand landed on Dean’s hip, he could easily feel the heat through his shirt. Turning his gaze to Castiel, Deans lips quirked into a grin. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself.” The Alpha’s blue eyes were sparkling, and Dean couldn’t help himself as he leant forwards to kiss the plush lips of his mate. “You ready for tomorrow?” The slow blink that Castiel received in answer to his question let him know that once again Dean had forgotten about their mating appointment.

“Tomorrow being…” Dean’s gaze was worried, mind searching for all of the possible dates he could have forgotten.

“Tomorrow being our quarterly lesson with the mating community.”

Realisation passed over Deans face. Because it happened so few and far between he could never remember the dates, but that was why he had Cas. Once mated you weren’t just left to it, there were some things that could only be taught after you’re committed to someone for life.

Which was where the ‘mating community’ came into play. They would take newly mated couples under their wing and collectively teach them about everything they knew. Generations of Information passed down in a quarterly group session. Seemed impossible right?

“Do we have to-“

“Yes, Dean. We’ve spoken about this before. We have to attend.”

Huffing petulantly, Dean folded his arms over his chest, gaze flickering back to Gabriel and Sam. The feel of Castiel’s hand gently cupping the back of Dean’s neck only riled him up more. He didn’t want to be coddled, and he didn’t want to listen to a bunch of old folk telling them how to live their lifes.

“Dean.”

Jaw stiff, Dean ignored Castiel, gaze hardening on the courting couple only a few feet away from them.

“Dean.” It was harder this time. Both Castiel’s tone, and Dean’s ability to ignore him. Raising his gaze to Castiels seemed like a chore, but once they were locked in a stare he couldn’t pull away. “I know you don’t like the meetings. But we promised we would attend them.”

Sighing, Dean gave a short nod. “I know, Cas. I just figured with the timing and what not around campus we wouldn’t be forced to go along, is all.”

“If anything, these sessions are more important now than ever, Dean.” Castiels fingers played with the short hair at the back of Dean’s head, and unwillingly he relaxed into the touch, eyes closing. “Our bond is un-breaking. The more we understand of that, the better equipped we will be for the future.”

“Do you have to make this much sense all of the time?”

Castiel’s huff of laughter had Dean grinning too, their foreheads pressing together to let them share the same breath.

The breath that Dean and Castiel shared was heated, but they pulled back from each other soon enough, flushed and hot under the collar.

"Don't you two have somewhere to be?" Gabriel complained, loudly. Much to Deans annoyance. How the heck did Gabriel remember when his appointments was when Dean couldn't? Rude.

"Whatever dork, we're going now." For good measure Dean stuck out his tongue, earning a playful tap to his arm from Castiel.

"Now now, don't pick on Gabriel." Giving his brother a look up and down, Castiel sighed in a whistful manner. "You know he's a little different and can't always communicate effectively-"

"-I said that /once/!"

"Cas is never letting it go, little buddy."

"Let me reassure you the only /little/ thing about me is my height."

"Gabriel!" Sam hissed, his cheeks flushed despite his not so subtle glances to Gabriels crotch. Hey, Alpha's were just as curious about Omega sizes as Omega's were about Alphas.

"Look, as much as I love banter with you guys, we really do have to get going or we'll miss the session and they'll put us under review." Dean sighed, grabbing his jacket from the back of his desk chair.

"Dean." Glancing back to his brother, Dean paused in putting on his jacket, one arm through the leather and the other holding it up.

"Are you and Cas going to be okay?"

Trust his brother to ask such a question. Deans gaze softened, and he rolled his eyes playfully. "Lightning doesn't strike twice, okay? We'll be fine."

"Actually statistically speaking Lightning-" A stern glance and Gabriels mouth snapped shut.

"We'll be fine, Sam." Castiel's hands moved over Dean, helping him put his jacket on completely before taking the Omega's hand in his. "We'll see you soon."

Dean felt guilty about putting Castiel in such a situation. No Alpha liked to have his protection skills put into question, and most certainly not by a relative of said Alpha's mate. Still, Dean couldn't sense any anger coming from Castiel. He was sure that the Alpha knew Sam's intentions weren't sinsister. Rather than questioning Castiel's skills as an Alpha, Sam had been offering his protection to the pair.

Squeezing Castiel's hand, Dean grinned to his Alpha, getting an almost suspicious look in return, yet a gentle smile too.

The walk to their meeting wasn't a long one, but they both visibly relaxed as they approached the building, no longer on high alert. A rogue Alpha might be stupid enough to attack a school, but he would never attack one of these sessions, too many Alpha's about who know how to fight and win.

"Nice to see you both. Today you'll be learning about shared mental connections between mates."

Well, that hadn't been on their plan for the day, but Dean's excitement grew. There would be no more wondering just what Castiel was thinking, and better yet, Castiel wouldn't be able to hide any of his feelings from Dean anymore (usually to 'protect' him).

Of course, he didn't realise that it worked both ways, as Castiel was happy to point out rather quickly once the session started.


	13. Chapter 12

All in all the day with the mating council was exhausting. Both mentally and physically. Like having to fight Castiel off of him when the link was finally solid. Turns out having your darkest fears out for your mate to see was more than Dean had bargained for, and wasn't something he wanted to repeat any time soon. Because of his fears, the link had to be severed by one of the other pairs. 

It was violent. 

Castiel's ego and his nose were broken, and Dean couldn't bare to be touched. Having Gabriel and Jo come pick him up from the centre was incredibly embarrassing. 

Avoiding eye contact, Dean lifted his shoulders and shoved his hands in his pockets, hunched over.

"That bad, huh?" 

Shrugging off the question from Gabriel, Dean started the walk back to their dorm. It would be overcrowded and impossible to keep away from Castiel, but his friends would be more likely to drop the subject when they were trying to keep Castiel from breaking everything that belonged to Deans dad in their room.

His real dad, that is. Not Bobby.

Caught in his whirlwind of self pity and self loathing (a hard one to understand and comprehend), Dean didn't notice the arms wrapping around him before it was too late, and there was a chest pressed against his back.

"Dean. It's going to be okay."

"Fuck-!" Jerking his hands from his pockets, Dean rubbed at his face, already a sobbing mess. 

Fucking Gabriel and his fucking hugs.

Avoiding the dorm completely, Jo and Gabriel ended up taking Dean to a local ice cream parlour, something he would be forever thankful for. The inquisitive questions never came, and there were no pitying glances.

Gabriel had managed to get icecream on his nose though.

"Dude I swear, hand on my heart!"

"You better stop calling me 'Dude', Gabriel." Jo snapped, napkin in hand, trying to wrestle Gabriel's shielding arms from his face so she could clean it.

"You're such a mother hen." Dean teased, waving his spoon in Jos direction as he watched her finally pressed the napkin over Gabriels face. She didn't even attempt to smother him. 

"It only looks that way because Gabriel is being a baby. Trust me."

The pure look of disdain on Jo's face had Dean choking out a laugh, coughing on his icecream and earning glares from various couples in the parlour. What? She was funny!

Before he could stop it, Gabriels spoon had dipped into his icecream, stealing his chocolate chip goodness.

"The hell-"

"-I've eaten all mine already." Gabriel offered, spoon hanging out of hi mouth.

"Do you have a bottomless stomach or something?" A shrug was his response, but it didn't stop Dean from wrapping his arm protectively around his sundae. 

"He's immune to brain freeze, that's for sure."

"Charlie!" Jo grinned, standing and leaning over Gabriel to hug her friend tightly. "I didn't think you were on shift today?"

"Ah well with the Alpha attack they were pulling on everyone they could. Everyone who knew self defence anyway."

"Care to introduce us?" Dean asked between the rather intense gazes passing between the pair. There was a story there and he was going to push it as soon as the redhead was gone.

"Oh. This is Dean, and this pain in my backside is Gabriel."

"Hey!"

"So you're the infamous Gabriel, huh?" Charlie grinned, bending so she was eye to eye with the still sitting Gabriel. "Jo says you're like the archery champion of the school. Me, you, one on one battle for the title of archery champion for this region."

"You are /on/."

"Jo talks about us often, huh?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrows at his beta friend who could only flush in response. 

"Jo talks about a lot of things a lot of times. She never said you were that cute though." Charlie grinned, eyeing Dean up and down.

"Woah there, Dean is a taken man." Gabriel huffed, but leant into Charlie. "I on the other hand-"

"- Are currently being courted and should stop flirting." Jo yanked Gabriel back by his collar, causing him to yell out in surprise and Charlie to giggle, standing with her hands on her hips.

"Yep, that's the Gabriel you told me about."

"Bradbury, back to work!"

"Yes sir!" Waving a quick goodbye, Charlie scurried over to the next table, making sure they had everything they needed.

"So. Spill the beans. Who was that?" Leaning over the table, Dean waggled his eyebrows.

"That uh, was Charlie. She does some volunteer work at the same animal shelter as me." Jo avoided eye contact, hands in her lap as she looked up at the poster on the wall next to her, hoping the conversation would lapse.

"Always knew you had a thing for redheads." 

The sharp glare now facing Gabriel had him laughing, making Jo flush even darker.

"She's just a friend!" Jo hissed.

"A friend you wanna get to know better." Gabriel purred.

Unsure of how to get the conversation back away from her, Jo look helplessly at Dean.

"Gabe. Leave Jo to pine after Charlie alone. Shouldn't we be heading back now anyway, it's nearly curfew?"

With Gabriel's tone suddenly serious, he turned to Dean. "Are you ready to go back?"

"... Yeah." Nodding, Dean grabbed his wallet. "Just gotta pay. I'll see you outside."

The brief reprise of being away from his two best friends gave Dean a chance to compose himself. To drop his shoulders, take a breath, and let all of his worries just fall away. 

That was the plan anyway. 

As soon as he stepped out of the parlour, he was back to being Dean, who had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"You ready to talk about what happened yet?" Gabriel cautiously questioned, reaching for Deans hand and lacing their fingers together, trying to be supportive.

"Just some old stuff. I guess I wasn't as ready to share it as I thought. And Cas he just-" Trembling voice, something stuck in his throat, Dean had to stop mid sentance. "He just flipped out."

"Yeah."

Jo was on the other side of him now, linking their arms together, another support system for Dean, helping him tell them more.

"It was m'dad. Y'know? Before Bobby... and-"

"-Hey. You're not there now. You're here." Jo's words were soft, and bought Dean back to the moment.

"You're here, and you're safe." Gabriel added. "Cas just wants to show you that. He was an ass about doing it, don't get me wrong. Who the fuck punches their couple counsellor in the face, amiright? But seriously Dean, he loves you. More than anything I've ever seen. He would fight through hell to help you, even if you didn't want him to."

"What Gabriel means to say-" Jo glared at her friend for defending Castiel's actions, but turned her soft gaze back to Dean. "-is that Castiel was an ass, but that doesn't change what he feels for you. You just have to decide if you're ready to forgive him for it yet."

Deans chuckle was unexpected, but welcome.

"Question is, will he forgive me for not telling him?"

"Always."

The gruff voice had all three looking up in shock, seeing a rather tense looking Castiel with two black eyes and a broken nose. 

Even though he wanted to rush forwards and pull Dean against him, Castiel kept his distance, hands glued to his sides but his gaze saying all of his apologies at once.

Pushing away from Jo and Gabriel, Dean threw himself at his Alpha, holding him tightly.

"I'm sorry Cas-"

"-Dean there is nothing for you to apologise for." 

Soul staring and kisses had Jo and Gabriel uncomfortable fairly quickly, but they let the pair make up (and make out) for a few more minutes, until they couldn't take it anymore and ushered the pair inside.

"So, we all good?"

"Yeah." Dean was leaning against Castiel, who had his arm wrapped tightly around Deans middle. Protective. Loving.

"I spoke to the council and have requested we try the link again. But not for a few more sessions yet, until Dean and I have spoken in depth."

"Righto." 

"Righto?"

"Yeah. I heard an old man say it the other day." Gabriel explained, leading the four of them into their shared dorm.

Another day without sight of the Alpha stalking the Omega block.

People were starting to relax, Gabriel thought with a tense smile.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as they had thought? No sign of the Alpha in a few days, no murders.

Maybe it would all be okay...


	14. Chapter 13

_Maybe it would all be okay..._

The day started like any other boring school day.

Difficulty waking up. Arguments over who gets the bathroom first. Rushed breakfast. However, during each of these moments Gabriel could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, warning him of something.

What that something was, he couldn't be sure. Each time the chill had ran over him he'd searched around, trying to find the source of his discomfort. No obvious signs lead to Gabriel thinking of himself as paranoid.

Unfortunately, Sam had noticed his odd behaviour.

"Everything okay?" The large hand to the small of his back was comforting, and it forced a smile from him even though he hadn't wanted it to.

"Fine, Sammich!"

Judging from the raised eyebrow, he had sounded far too chipper for it to be a real 'fine'. Damn Sam was perceptive. That might come in handy at some point in the future.

"I'm fine, just feeling a little paranoid is all." Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, but leant into Sam‘s warm body, his head falling easily onto Sam‘s rather muscular chest. It wasn't exactly intimate, so Jo let them be, which Gabriel was very thankful for.

Sam was like a rock to him. Something he could lean on when times got difficult. Maybe that was why they worked so well together. Gabriel in his boyish trickster ways, and Sam, the ever head strong book worm.

"Paranoid?"

Gabriel hummed in agreement, slowly blinking up to the Alpha courting him.

"Gabe, it's natural to feel a little paranoid. But if something is really bugging you, let me know okay? Because I'll attack anything that tries to hurt you."

Smirking, Gabriel batted his eyes up to Sam. "My hero."

Snorting at the Omega's dreamy yet erotic expression, Sam filed away the tidbit information of roleplay for a later day. For when they were happily mated and not under the watchful gaze of Jo.

"When am I going to meet your brother?" Sam had tried for an offhand comment, but the way his finger slipped just past the band of Gabriel's trousers had the Omega snickering.

"Soon. With the Alpha attacks he’s trying to get permission to visit the school and meet with us all." By all he meant Castiel and Dean as well. Michael liked to have regular visits with the mated couple, keeping a close eye on Castiel's and Dean’s happiness.

Re-tracking his fingers before Jo could catch him (and before he pushed his luck with Gabriel), Sam leant forwards and pressed a kiss to the golden hair on Gabriel’s head. "I can't wait to meet him officially. State my intentions and have his expressed permission to continue what we have."

"And what do we have." Gabriel questioned, innocently enough.

"What we have is amazing." Sam's lips quirked into a smile, and his eyes shone with love that Gabriel hadn't expected. "And I don't want to lose it."

"You big sap." Gabriel eventually settled on, pushing Sam away from him playfully. Trust him to get the Alpha that waxes poetry about their love.

Laughing loudly and with no cares, Sam took Gabriel by the hand and dragged him back into their little group, easily taking Gabriel's mind off of the nervous feelings that had been plaguing him.

As they wandered back to the group, Gabriel caught sight of a pale hand grasping lightly onto a freckled shoulder.

Castiel and Dean seemed closer now than they ever had before.

Gabriel was almost jealous.

Dean's body fit perfectly against Castiel’s (though he was sure that Dean would outgrow him eventually, Winchesters had the tall genes and Novak’s had the short genes), slotting together like jigsaw pieces. The pure delight he could scent coming off both of them wasn't something that could be faked, nor could the gleaming smiles that had Gabriel gagging (jokingly).

If there was such thing as Heaven, it had decided to put Dean and Castiel together.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Gabriel wasn't the only one studying Omega's and their Alpha's. A dark figure lurked in the nearby shadows. Watching. Waiting.

"Soon." The figure smiled wide, teeth sharp. "Soon and I'll have you."

\-----

"Cas!" Dean giggled as Castiel walked him backwards, his legs hitting the bed frame causing him to topple backwards, laughing all the while at the playful look on his Alpha's face.

"Dean." Castiel purred, crawling over the lithe frame that was wiggling beneath him. Enticing, as always.

"Seriously Cas. We'll get kicked out if we skip too many lessons in a week!"

Though Dean’s protests sounded solid, his body gave him away. The way it arched into Castiel's very touch, goosebumps rising on the skin that Castiel didn't quiet put his hands on, as if Dean’s very soul was reaching out to him.

If it wasn't a turn on, it was at least an ego boost.

"Cas-"

Castiel's chapped lips pressed against Deans pulse point, just light enough that Dean could feel it, making his protests stop and his voice catch in his throat.

There was the faint outline of a mating bite, and Castiel itched to remark Dean. Make the bite so prominent that people two towns over would know that they were mated.

With his mouth opening wide, teeth grazing the neck, Castiel was more than a little annoyed when a hand in his hair pulled him back, rather roughly.

"Cas I'm fucking serious."

As quick as the lust had struck him, it had left, and Castiel was pulling himself off of Dean, face horror stricken.

"Dean I-"

"It's fine." Dean shook off Castiel's apologies, but checked the Alpha's gaze to ensure it was no longer red. With the all clear, Dean sighed. "I know you get frisky if we can't be together for so long, but we gotta work through it."

Nodding his head, Castiel's hands flittered over Dean, scared to touch him properly.

"If Sam, Gabe and Jo come back and find out the room smells like mating, they'll be pissed."

Another nod, and Dean felt almost sorry at how pathetic Castiel looked.

"I would have been up for it." Dean tried to console him, his arms looping around Castiel's neck as he leant into him. "You know I would have. And usually the rough play is brilliant. But we have to think of the others now. It's not fair of them if we start bonking, y'know?"

"'Bonking'?" Castiel repeated, one eyebrow arching in question at the choice of words.

"Yeah, bonking. Rubbing uglies. The horizontal tango-" Dean was broken off when Castiel's grinning face pressed against his, and they shared a soft kiss, promising so much more when they had the chance to properly be together.

"Please never describe our love making as bonking ever again."

"Promise." Dean's fingers once again found their way to the short hairs at the back of Castiel's neck, curling against the strands even as he pulled back from the kiss.

"We should get to class before the teacher notices we're not there."

Hand in hand, the counselling session a long forgotten memory, Dean and Castiel headed to class together.

Castiel was Dean's rock, something he could always rely on. If there was one thing that Dean would never trade for the world, it was Castiel's love for him.


	15. Chapter 14

Castiel was Dean's rock, something he could always rely on. If there was one thing that Dean would never trade for the world, it was Castiel's love for him.

There was something about the day that had Deans skin crawling. Only earlier had he been joyful, pressed against Castiel with no care for the world. But as he sat in his lecture, his eyes drifted to the outside, focusing on a shadow in the forest.

It wasn’t like it was a person (he hoped). The shadow hadn’t moved since he’d caught sight of it, but he just couldn’t stop staring.

“-if thou gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee.”

The dark shadow that Dean had been staring at moved, slowly, purposefully. Dean’s heart stopped, and a yell that was forming in his throat had washed away, his lips pressed together tightly as he watched the shadow disappear.

Gabriel must have noticed the shift in his scent, his friend leant into him, concerned. “De, you okay?”

“Yeah-“ Dean croaked, pulling his eyes from the shadows. “Yeah I’m fine.”

Gabriel didn’t look convinced, but Dean had his scent back under control, and he shook off the incident as a mere coincidence. Why would their teacher say that quote just as the shadow moved? Why would he tune into her at that precise moment? The only explanation was that Dean’s mind was playing tricks on him, and he had to relax.

Whoever this rogue Alpha was, it wasn’t coming after him. Right?

Finally the lecture ended, and Dean stood from his place, gathering his things into his bag. As students went to exit, one of the Alpha guards, stopped them.

“Everyone back in your seats please.”

A low murmur started amongst the students, and Dean’s worried gaze met Castiel’s, a few tiers below.

Once everyone was back in their seats and quiet, an announcement was made that had a chill spread through the room.

“There has been another murder.”

For a moment all Dean could hear was static in his ears, but thankfully he knew the Alpha wasn’t speaking, his mouth closed tight as he waited for the room to process the information.

Silence settled once more, and Dean could feel Gabriel’s hand squeezing his under the table.  
“As of now the campus is on lock down. All classes are suspended until further notice. There will be no contact with the outside world-“ an uproar of displeasure sounded around the room, but the Alpha continued, louder “-all families have been notified. A cell blocker has been put in place, only emergency calls will be put through. As I am sure you all understand this is no light matter, and until the culprit is caught we cannot make any movements.”

Before any further arguments could be made the Alpha left the lecture room, and Dean could distinctively hear some guards follow him as they marched down the hall, no doubt doing their rounds.

“What the fuck.”

“I don’t know.”

“What the actual fuck, Dean?”

“I don’t know.” Dean repeated to his friend, at a loss. A glance out the window, to where the shadow had been creeping earlier, and Dean wondered if he should report his sighting. But he had decided it was only a coincidence right? No point sending an Alpha guard on a wild goose chase…

“Are you both okay?” Castiel first checked over Gabriel, before moving his full attention to Dean, cupping his mates face in his hands and pressing a light kiss to his forehead.

“Who-“

“I just spoke with the Alpha Guard outside; they’re not releasing the name yet.”

Good old Castiel, always looking for the answers to questions Dean hadn’t asked yet.

“Come. Sam will be waiting for us back at the dorm.” Castiel took Dean by the hand, keeping a close eye on Gabriel as they walked back to the dorm.

Everyone was on high alert, and Dean could tell from the steady gaze that Castiel was keeping on Gabriel he feared for him now more than ever.

When they reached the dorm Dean huffed, watching as Gabriel was pulled into a Sam hug before he was even looked at by his brother.

“Rude.” He muttered under his breath, though smiled as Sam continued to fuss over Gabriel, his puppy dog features showing true concern.

With Gabriel fully checked over, Sam turned his attention to Dean, scenting him.

“Sam, please.” Dean pushed his brother away by his face. “I don’t need your second thought check over.” He teased.

Gabriel chuckled, punching Sam playfully in his arm. “Yeah. You know it’s meant to be family first and then the person you’re courting, right?”

“Ah-but-“

“Come on Sam, you’ve dug your grave now you have to lie in it.” Jo piqued up from her seat on the bed, giggling with the rest of them.

Though Sam pouted, Dean knew his brother was only pretending to be told off. He knew all too well that Sam would die for him, it just meant that now he knew Sam would die for Gabriel too.

The big sap.

“All joking aside, I’m glad you’re okay too.” Dean smiled, walking past his brother to flop onto the bed that Castiel had been sleeping in the night before. “I’m so glad infact, I’m sleeping here with Cas tonight, so you can have the floor again!”

Jo’s outburst of laughter at Sams disgruntled expression was enough to make the room join in, an unexpected bout of fun in a time of mortal danger.

By the time night came, the group had calmed from the earlier shock, though they were still wondering who the latest victim was. The school had said they would make an official announcement in the morning, so each of them knew it was going to be a sleepless night. Jo took to bed with Gabriel, so that Sam didn’t have to sleep on the floor, instead taking Jo’s now spare bed.

It meant, thankfully, that Dean and Castiel had a little more space together.

Cuddled into Castiel under some warm thick blankets, Dean tried to stifle his giggles as cold hands pressed against his stomach. A grin moved against his neck, and Dean’s fingers curled around the wrists of those pesky cold hands.

“Cas.” He whispered, his head turning just in time for Castiel to kiss him, pure delight radiating off his Alpha.

“I know. Hands above your middle. I’ll be good, I promise.” Castiel murmured back.

Settling under the covers, the pair cuddled together, letting their scents merge once more.

Though sleep was little, they both felt rested in each other’s arms.


	16. Filler Chapter 15

"Dean. Dean are you awake?" 

The gentle voice made Dean want to drift back to sleep, but there was urgency behind the whisper that alerted him, his eyes fluttering open as he fought against the dream trying to keep a hold of him.

"Gabe?"

"There's something going on outside."

A brief look around the room told him that Gabriel hadn't woken anyone else yet, but he didn't have much time to reflect - Gabriel was pulling him over to the window, pointing outside to what appeared to be a tactical meeting for the Alpha troops.

If Dean thought the troops had been well armed before, it was nothing to compared to what he could see now. Riot gear came close, he suspected, only having to go from what was shown on TV. 

"You think this is because of the murder yesterday?" Dean asked Gabe, leaning against his friend. 

"I guess. It would make sense that they want to step up their game after a murder happened under their noses."

"Dean?" Castiel called from the bed, looking up groggily at his mate. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah" Dean glanced back over to the bed, amused at Castiel's bed head. "Just watching the troops outside. They look like they're preparing for a war..."

\---

Perhaps Dean's choice of words had been poor, but as all students were herded into the main hall for the morning announcement, it was clear that they hadn't been told everything about what was going on.

The Alpha troops lined all of the walls, covered in protective material, enhanced breathing masks covering most of their faces - the rest covered by their helmets. Each troop was stood with their legs slightly apart, hands holding tight to their weapons. 

It was enough to put everyone in the room on edge.

Gabriel stayed close to Dean, their hands fumbling together to give each other comfort.

"Thank you all for coming here today." The principal started, looking over the mass of worried students in his care.

"It's been a trying time, a sad time, for all. We have lost friends, and lost hope. I am not here today to try and make light of the situation. I am here to give you all peace of mind."

Gabriel glanced to the Alpha's surrounding them, but no 'peace of mind' came to him.

"The Rogue Alpha will be caught, and they will be punished for their crimes. So I ask that you all stay calm, and you follow the rules set in place to keep you safe."

"Safe?" Someone shouted out near the back of the room. "How can you call keeping us locked near a murderer safe?"

A chorus of yells followed the statement, and the crowd surged forwards for a moment, but stopped when the troops moved in formation.

"If we let you all leave we'll have no chance of capturing this monster. While you're all here your families are safe, and we have a better chance of survival."

"Maybe you do, but what about the Omegas?" Another voice shouted. "They're being picked off one by one, and your army can't event sense this Rogue!"

With each passing moment the crowd grew more angered, more aggressive (the Alpha's being fuelled by the Omega's and Beta's worry, wanting to protect their friends and lovers). 

A shove and Dean was wincing, rubbing his arm.

"ENOUGH!"

Flinching, Gabriel and Dean looked behind them to Castiel. 

The red in his eyes sent a wave of panic through the room, but his words were steady, and carried a weight that meant everyone listened to him.

"We should not be fighting the help being given to us. It's time for us to work together, as a pack. As family. These murders are a crime against us, a threat, and if we start fighting each other then we have lost."

Castiel's shoulders were tense, though he radiated a figure of strength.

"Enough bickering. This situation is one we must face, and we must do so with strength. I propose we have a watch. Though the troops are doing their best, the students here know the grounds better, know the people. So let us work in shifts to patrol as packs."

With Castiel having such sway over the group, the Principal was unable to say no.

Dean felt a sense of pride swell in his chest. Trust Castiel to be the one to get the students to work together with the troops. He was going to be a great leader one day.

After the announcements had been finalised, and a formal patrol was set up (with Castiel leading it), the students finally left the hall, troops leading them back into the open air.

Gabriel covered his eyes as he looked up at the sun. If it weren't for the murder that happened yesterday, it would actually be a nice day to take a picnic out. Gabriels hopes of such a thing were slashed, especially with Sam and Castiel on high alert because of all of the gear the troops had.

The one off murder had quickly become a serial murder.


	17. Chapter 16

Gabriel had always been a restless sleeper. 

It wasn't that he couldn't sleep. Oh no. He enjoyed sleep. If given the option to sleep all day he would take it in a heart beat. By saying 'restless', as Castiel knew from experience, Gabriel was usually referring to how often he moved in his sleep.

Which is why, after a few begging glances from Jo, Castiel had conceded and decided he would take on Gabriel's incessant kicking for a night or two. If only to give the Beta a break, and to 'score' some 'friendship points', as Dean would put it.

Not that his mate was offering to sleep with Gabriel. Dean was far too accustomed to how hard Gabriel could kick if he was in a confined space while sleeping, and it wasn't something Dean wanted to put up with for extended periods of time.

Which is how Castiel ended up sleeping next to Gabriel, who had one leg thrown over his, the other leg hanging off the bed, with a hand in his face.

In an attempt to help Castiel sleep, Gabriel had dressed for the night in some of Dean's old clothes, hoping that the scent of them would assist his night. Gabriel knew how annoyed Castiel was without proper sleep.

Castiel was too emotionally exhausted to really care about the movements though, the scent of his lover helping, even if Gabriel was the one wearing the clothes, and eventually, Castiel fell asleep.

\----

The hallways were dark, no lights spilling from any of the rooms to illuminate his path.

Not that it mattered. He knew where his target was. 

The kill the other night had been... unfortunate. Fun, but unfortunate. It did however serve it's purpose. Heightened security didn't bother him, he had the latest technology from the black market to hide his scent, and no matter how equipped the Alpha troops were, he knew he was faster. Stronger.

The defences of the dorm had been weak. He was already on the floor he needed, and no alerts had been raised yet.

There.

He spotted the door he needed, carefully scenting the air. His mouth watered.

The chosen Omega. The one his master wanted, was on the other side of the door. But so were two Alphas, and he had to move fast if he wanted to take his target.

His fingers wrapped around the door handle. It was locked. He pulled a small kit from his pocket, and within a few moments the door opened. His sight hadn't adjusted to the darkness, so he relied on scent.

There was a leg hanging off the bed. The scent seemed right (having so many bodies living in such a small room he couldn't be sure, but he had to do something now he was here.) 

His claws reached out. His fingers closed over a thin ankle. The rush of what he was doing was making him giddy. 

Making him sloppy.

His foot nudged the mattress on the floor, just as he yanked at the ankle of the Omega on the bed.

All at once movement sparked in the room.

Gabriel had yelped, startling awake at the grab of his leg, his hands grabbing onto Castiel and tugging him with him as he was pulled halfway from the bed. At the same time Sam had startled awake from the kick, his mind already whirring from that when Gabriels yelp sent him into over drive. Within seconds he had transformed into his beast form, tackling whatever it was that had grabbed onto Gabriel.

The rogue had enough sense to transform the same time, saving him from severe injury and also hiding his identity.

His yell had alerted the occupants of the room, and Castiel was scrambling from the bed to follow Sam as Dean hurried over to Gabriel, checking him over, his heart in his throat.

Gabriel could hear crashing down the hallway, snarls and rips, and his blood ran cold.

Was he nearly just kidnapped?

Sam was fighting for him. Seeing red. He wasn't in control of himself as he tore at the Alpha that had grabbed onto Gabriel, and the Alpha gave back just as much as he got, claws slashing across Sams middle, legs kicking out to get Sam off him. The movement was enough to have Sam stumbling back, his muzzle red with blood but his body hunched in pain, blood seeping from his fur to the floor.

It was just enough time for the rogue Alpha to jump through the nearest window, already bounding into the woods.

Castiel had ran into the hallway, his body slamming into the wall opposite their dorms bedroom door, his haste of wanting to follow Sam making his control slip. Castiel hadn't transformed, but had managed to flick on the lights, seeing the rogue Alpha for just a second, until the glass was shattering and the Alpha was running away.

Other Alphas had woken at the commotion, one of them having to kick their door down due to Sam and the rogue slamming into it so hard the hinges had broken, bending the door in the process.

Castiel approached Sam slowly, his hands out in a peaceful offer.

He didn't get very far though, Gabriel pushing past him, running over to Sam to see if he was okay.

He ignored the hushed warning from Castiel, and dropped to his knees next to the bleeding Alpha, tears streaming down his face.

Sam had enough sense about him to see that Gabriel wasn't a threat, but someone he was courting, and licked Gabriel's face to get rid of the tears, even as the beast whimpered at the blood matting his fur.

Gabriel's hands fluttered over the fur, looking for the injury. 

By the time the medics had arrived, Sam was back in his human form, being cradled in Gabriel's arms as they both pressed against the wound to his stomach and chest, trying to stop the bleeding.


	18. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is for Majestic Duxk whom hasn't lost faith in this story despite the amount of time between chapter updates....

“You’ve failed me.”

Poor lighting in the dark room didn’t help the mood, in his opinion. The rogue Alpha was fighting against all his instincts to pull his tail between his legs and whimper. He wanted to bare his throat, show he wasn’t a threat and that he would do anything for the master, but he stood strong, unmoving.

“There were… unexpected complications.”

“They know who we’re after.” A finely plucked eyebrow arched, as the painted red nails tapped rhythmically against the arm of the chair. Master was not pleased at all, and she was daring him to make a wrong move.

He bowed his head.

“I won’t fail you again.”

“No. You won’t.” Standing from her chair, the master stepped closer to the rogue. As soon as she was close enough she gripped his jaw in her strong hand, forcing his eyes to raise and look at her. Her nails dug into his skin, small droplets of blood forming. “Because next time I see you here without my Omega, I will have your head on a platter, Alistair.”

He swallowed against the lump in his throat. “Of course, master.”

Master wrinkled her nose in disgust, pushing Alistairs face away from her. She turned, her silver dress twirling with the movement.

“My patience is not infinite. Go.”

Alistair bowed, then quickly exited the room, scowl etched on his face.

He had to get the Omega, and soon.

His life depended on it.

\-----

Recovering from the attack, Sam and Gabriel were under extra protection at the medical ward on campus.

Under any other circumstance, it wouldn’t be allowed. The medical ward was for demonstrations or practising purposes only. Anything bigger than a paper cut was referred to the local hospital. But then considering the circumstances, the school had allowed Sam and Gabriel to recover there.

Being the big sap he was, Sam hadn't wanted to stay in the hospital more that needed, in case the Alpha came back and hurt someone there.

How was the Head meant to argue with that?

Though when Dean found out he had wanted to smack his brother. Trust the giant of an Alpha to be thinking of others safety while he's been treated for horrible wounds bought on by a rogue Alpha attack... sometimes Dean honestly couldn't believe his brothers pure sympathy for others.

Which is why he was so mad that Sam was attacked.

Sure, he was protecting Gabriel. It was kind of expected considering they were well into their courting by now, but that didn't make Dean feel any better about the situation, and it certainly didn't heal the gash on Sams chest.

He would be left with a scar, if only a faint one.

Gabriel had teased Dean in what he thought was good humour, saying that he liked an Alpha with a little background to him. Dean then slapped his best friend.

It was their first real argument in a while.

Logically Dean knew that Gabriel had been trying to lighten the mood. It wasn’t like Sam was injured beyond repair, and Gabriel was holding a lot of guilt over the fact Sam was injured protecting him.

But damn. Too soon.

Should Dean ever look back on their tiff, he would blame his anger at Gabriel for running off alone.

All he had wanted was some air, and he had begged Castiel to just let him go for a walk, that he wouldn’t too long. A bit of chill to ease his mind, some ice in his lungs to make breathing bearable again.

The frost outside was a pleasant chill.

Dean hugged his arms against his body, regretting not bringing that leather jacket that Castiel had gotten him.

“Stupid Gabriel.”

His breath clouded in front of him, and he shook his head at his own selfishness.

Gabriel needed him right now. Needed his friend to be there for him instead of moping outside because his brother got into a scrap.

“Fuck.” Dean rolled his eyes. “Great friend, huh…”

Just as he was deciding to go back into the ward, a figure approaching him caught his attention. It was the scent that had alarm bells ringing in his ears.

After the attack on Sam, there a smell on him that only lasted a few minutes, but it was recognisable anywhere.

Molton ash and burning metal.

The man that approached him was tall, taller than Sam, with salt and pepper hair, and a dusting of facial hair to match. His eyes were dark, like the night, and his gaze sent chills over Deans body, more than the frost ever could.

The eyes had him frozen to the spot, swallowing against the lump in his throat.

‘He’s after Gabriel.’ Dean had to remind himself. ‘I can’t let him take Gabe.’

Dean narrowed his eyes, a defensive snarl leaving his lips.

"You attacked my brother."

The Alphas smile was predatory in the most basic sense, and alerted Dean to the fact that they were so very alone out here in the cold. No guards. No security. Not even any students.

"The tall one? He got in the way."

Deans heart was hammering in his chest. His scent piqued with fear. There was no mercy. This Alpha would kill anyone that got in the way.

Still, that didn’t stop Dean from opening his big mouth.

"You can't have Gabriel." His voice wavered. How would he even stop him? Next to an Alpha like this, Dean wouldn’t stand a chance.

"Whatever it is you want him for, you can't have him." Dean fingered his phone in his pocket, pressing the panic button that Castiel had put on the side of it. He didn’t even know if it still worked – the thing was so old, and had been dropped on the floor so many times… but he had to hope it did. If he was going to die here, he needed to make sure that no-one else got hurt.

The only Alpha that could beat this murderer would be Cas.

"But, my sweet." The purr of the Alpha had bile rising in Dean’s throat. The long fingers of the Alpha traced over his cheek, and Dean knew that his hands were trembling in his pockets, his lip following suit out of pure fear.

"He wasn't the one I was after..."

Those large fingers gripped Deans neck, and Deans hands snapped to the arm, clawing at it in panic.

As the darkness spread into Dean’s vision, he prayed that Gabriel would be okay.

\----

When Castiel’s phone buzzed in his pocket, he hadn’t thought anything of it. Dean was probably at the vending machines (again), and wanted to know if his Alpha wanted anything.

Which was a great step forwards. Gabriel was still pathetically holding an ice pack to his cheek and mumbling under his breath, and Sam was sleeping off the latest set of pain medication he had been given.

Dean being back to his usual self after a long walk was like a breath of fresh air.

So when he pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw the panic alert had been trigged on Dean’s phone, Castiel’s stomach dropped.

They had set it up very early on in their relationship, as a humorous precaution more than something they thought they would need. With the amount of fights Dean would get into, they both felt a little better knowing if Dean struggled he could just call for Cas.

But after this attack on Sam and Gabriel…

Castiel swallowed the lump in his throat, his phone now pressed to his ear as he desperately tried to get through to Deans phone.

It rang out.

Cas’ scent spiked with panic, but before he could answer the questioning glances he bolted.

Castiel wasn’t a controlling Alpha, but having the panic button triggered on Dean’s phone meant that the location automatically pinged to his own phone, telling him of Dean’s whereabouts. As he closed in on the signal though, he growled in frustration.

It only gave him the phone coordinates.

The phone that was on the floor, screen smashed with a smear of blood on it.

The panic that was in his chest blossomed into blind rage, and his blood boiled.

Someone had Dean. Someone had _hurt_ Dean.

He would **destroy** them.


	19. Chapter 18

When Dean woke up it was to the feeling of cold metal encasing his wrists. Though he strained against them, he didn’t budge. Which was a little worrying once he noticed his feet were similarly encased. 

There was a dull pain to the side of his head, which he was sure where he’d been hit. Frustratingly. It wasn’t like he’d taken so many self-defence lessons he could now teach them. 

“Finally awake.”

Dean jerked against the restraints, squinting his eyes to try and see past the spotlights encasing him.

It wasn’t much use though, it was like he was on display. Never meant to know his location or captors, only meant to know that there was no escape. 

“You won’t get away with this.” Dean grumbled, his lips cracking. The lights were making the heat almost unbearable, and his throat was already itching with the ache to drink. 

“Dear boy.”

The Alpha that had struck him stepped into the light, his eyes flashing red as they eyed Dean up and down, possessively. The flick of a hand and a small blade appeared, the Alpha’s tongue licking across the short metal. 

“I haven’t even started.”

\-----

“But why Dean?” Maybe he sounded a little hysterical, but his best friend had just been kidnapped so he figured he had the right to be a little worked up. 

“It doesn’t matter why, now.” Castiel had grumbled, pacing next to Sam’s hospital bed. They’d already had to restrain Sam twice since he heard about Dean’s kidnapping, which was the only reason Castiel was still around. If it weren’t for the fact that the security team had left and Gabriel couldn’t restrain Sam by himself, Castiel would be out there too looking for Dean.

“We need to find him-“ Gabriel pushed against Sams chest, rolling his eyes. The idiot Winchester had exerted himself so much already that Gabriel hardly had to push him back against the bed.

“Yeah. We do need to find him, but you need to rest, Sammy.”

“How am I meant to rest at a time like this?”

“Sam if you don’t close your eyes and go to sleep I’m going to get the nurse to pump your system full of so many painkillers you don’t have a choice.” Gabriel threatened, raising his eyebrows at the Alpha courting him. 

It didn’t take much from then for Sam to fall into a light sleep. He was physically and mentally exhausted.

“Castiel.”

Golden eyes met Blue, unspoken words of support and understanding.

“I will wait here until Jo arrives. Then I have to leave.”

Gabriel nodded his head, standing from his seat next to Sam’s bed, laying the Alpha’s hand beside him, giving it a pat as he did so.

“Watch Sam for a minute. I need the bathroom.”

Castiel fell easily into the chair Gabriel had vacated, and didn’t blink twice as the Omega left the room.


	20. Chapter 19

Hot searing pain covered Dean’s body like an unwanted blanket, wrapping him in pure heat from the balls of his feet to the tips of his ears.

Each time he was sliced open, his body shook, trying to fight off the attacker and change into his wolf form in the same breath. But the restraints held properties he hadn’t experienced before, keeping him in his human form.

When the knife was no longer fun for the Alpha, he switched to small hooks, tugging at Dean’s skin like it was nothing more than a bit of cloth covering him.

Speaking of clothes, he wasn’t sure when they had disappeared, he only knew that it had been a welcome reprise from the pain.

“Why…” Dean murmured, his voice hoarse from the screaming. Even the small murmur had him coughing, chest constricting in protest. It had become a pattern now. The Alpha pushed him to the edge, then left him to recover overnight, to start the torture a fresh in a few hours.

It was hard to keep track of time. Was it hours or days? Maybe even weeks. Time wasn’t linear in here, and it wasn’t trackable.

“What was that, my pet?” The purr had goosebumps raising on his arms, and his lip twitched in disgust as cold fingers traced them.

“Why are you doing this?”

The fingers stopped their path up his arm, and instead gripped his jaw, pulling his head until he was considering the red eyes of the Alpha before him.

“Because, pet. I can.”

The long lick from his jaw to his temple had Dean gagging in protest, but he was spared from any further punishments, the Alpha stepping back to admire his work.

The click of heals approaching Dean was new, but he was too tired to lift his head.

“Alistair. This isn’t what we agreed.”

“I’m just having a little fun.”

Nails tapped against the metal tray where the Alpha, no, Alistair, kept his torture tools. Dean could only hope this Alpha wouldn’t join in.

“Get him cleaned up. A pretty face like that shouldn’t be hidden away from me. Then we can talk about your punishment.”

“He’s mine-“ The growl was quickly cut off by the sound of a loud slap, causing Dean to jump against the metal, but still with no strength to look up.

“He’s nothing but a distraction. You have until morning to make him presentable. Back talk me again and it will be you on the rack.”

The heels tapped away, and Dean released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. A few grumbles from Alistair, and the tray was wheeled away, giving Dean a few moments alone to gather his strength, and remember why he hadn’t given up hope.

Castiel was coming for him.

In his heart he knew it. And when Castiel finally found him, Dean could sleep for a week, wrapped in his Alpha’s scent, instead of the stench of blood.

 

\---

 

It had taken a few days, but Gabriel had tracked down the right place. He was almost positive, anyway. It was an old industrial building on a rundown estate, not too far from the school but far enough that no-one had thought to check it out.

A little bit of research showed that the electricity and water had never been switched off, and someone was footing the bill every month. Call it a hunch, but Gabriel was running out of options.

Once he had left that hospital and not returned, Castiel had tracked him down and lectured to the point his ears bled (metaphorically). So, this little adventure wasn’t a solo one.

“Looks like Beta guards on patrol.”

Another hint that this wasn’t all that it seemed.

“He’s in there. I know he is.” Castiel was on Gabriel’s left, Sam on his right as they peered at the estate from a small hill to its side. In the hopes of keeping the place off the radar, they had turned off all lights surrounding the building, only using three Beta guards at the front doors to keep out any intruders.

The windows weren’t an option, everything had been boarded up. Which meant it was the front door. They had to do this quietly, having not yet called up the police patrol to let them know what was going on.

Needless to say, their lack of organisation and help, Castiel was loathe to contact them at all.

“I’ll get us in. You two worry about actually finding Dean, okay?” Gabriel was already moving before the Alpha’s could process his words, and they rushed after him, hoping to stop him before he got himself hurt.

Having Gabriel run right towards the three Beta’s, panting and looking over his shoulder worriedly was not part of the plan.

“Help! Help!” Gabriel collapsed at the Beta’s feet, the three of them surrounding him quickly to see if he was okay.

“Buddy, you good?”

“You shouldn’t be out here, pal. Get going now.”

“Wait Richie, he doesn’t look so good. Can we call someone for you?”

While the Beta’s fussed over him, Gabriel planned his move.

A headbutt to the closest Beta, grabbing the knife from the second and stabbing the third in his foot, swinging around just in time to kick the second in his face, knocking him out cold.

“YOU LITTLE FUCKER-“ Knife pulled, fist clenched, and the third Beta was down.

“Record timing.” Gabriel breathed, unhooking the keys from the first Beta’s belt.

Gabriel stood, looking to the bushes and raising his eyebrows in expectance. “You coming, or what?”

Sam and Castiel scrambled forward, still in shock. Gabriel unlocked the doors, immediately stepping back in horror at the stench that escaped. Burned flesh, and no mistaking it – Dean’s blood.

“I’ll call the police. You go find him.”

Sam and Castiel ran into the building, keeping low. It would give them the advantage if someone came around the corner and surprised them. Thankfully there didn’t seem to be anyone around-

“Arghhh!”

A chill ran up Castiel’s spine at the cry of pain.

It was Dean, no mistaking it.

Before Castiel had truly registered where the sound was coming from, Sam was running toward it, body slamming into an unlocked door and tumbling through it like his legs were too long for his body.

“Dean!”

The stench of the Alpha, the one who took Dean, clogged up Castiel’s senses. Everything that happened after were snapshots, like old photographs he could barely remember.

Sam was flung across the room.

Alistair’s throat in his hand.

Blood pouring from his mouth.

Pressure. Noise.

Red.

When Castiel could think again he had Dean in his arms, down from the torture rack, though they sat at the base of it.

Now he recognised the noise, it was his own voice in a mantra of ‘Dean. Dean.’ Over and over.

The police arrived shortly after, completing a full sweep of the building to find the others involved in the kidnapping and torture operation. They were telling Castiel details, but he couldn’t remember any of them.

All that mattered was that Dean was alive.

**Author's Note:**

> tricksterangelgabriel.tumblr.com


End file.
